


Midnight Blue

by AvyJC15



Series: The Silver Eyed [2]
Category: Twilight (Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Demigods, F/M, Gen, Mentions of Myth & Folklore, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2019-06-25 22:40:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15650370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvyJC15/pseuds/AvyJC15
Summary: After the abrupt departure of Mason, her hybrid love, and Edward, her godsister's vampire love, Milarayne finds comfort in her bizarre relationships with strangers who may be more than what they appear to be, and her, simultaneously, deepening friendship with Jacob Black. However, her priorities, loyalties, and abilities are put to the test as she is drawn deeper into the world of hunters and old, forgotten enemies.Will she triumph, or will she succumb to the supernatural pull, pushing her into becoming her worst enemy?





	1. Preface

**I**  felt like I was trapped in one of those terrifying nightmares, the one where you have to find an escape, but there just isn't one.

But this was no dream, and, unlike in my usual nightmares, I wasn't trying to find an escape for fear of losing my life; I was trying to save something infinitely more precious. My own life meant little to me at that moment.

Alice had said there was a good chance the five of us would die here. Perhaps the outcome would be different if she weren't trapped by the brilliant sunlight; only Bella and I were free to run across this bright, crowded square.

And I couldn't do any better— I couldn't run fast enough.

So it didn't matter to me that we were surrounded by our extraordinarily dangerous enemies— by my natural enemies. I had seen someone would die, I just didn't know who it was. All I knew was that it was someone that meant the world to me and that only drove me more impatient and eager to get there to save whoever it was. As the clock began to toll out the hour, vibrating under the soles of my feet, I knew I was too late— and I was glad something bloodthirsty waited in the wings. For in failing at this, I forfeited any desire to live.

The clock tolled again, and the sun beat down from the exact center point of the sky when I exited the building emotionlessly.


	2. Building Tension

My brown orbs stared intently at the tiny grain-colored hoops swimming around the white liquid.

"Erm... Mila, what are you—"

"Oh, my—"

_SPLAT! CRASH!_

"... Mila?"

"Wow," said Andrew, slight amusement glinting in his eyes. "You finally managed to get her to snap out of it."

"How long was she like this?" asked Charlie, eyeing me from where I laid, grimacing, on the ground.

"'Bout half an hour. Tried to snap her out of it for 'bout fifteen minutes, but she was stuck like that psychic in that Disney show."

" _'That's so Raven,'_ " Lilly elaborated. "It's a pretty good show."

Huffing, I pushed myself to my feet and proceeded to clean my spot which was now covered with milk and cheerios. After it was clean, and I'd washed my dishes, I headed toward the stairs.

"When you're all done talking about me, let me know. I'm gonna go change."

And with that said, I was gone, down the hall and into my room.

Once I had closed my door behind myself, I sighed and hurried to change. After I was done, I inevitably glanced toward my locked window and sighed once more; I knew I was being unfair by avoiding Mason without an ounce of an explanation, but I couldn't help it. Ever since the night at the dance, despite his constant reassurance that he would never leave me, I was still hesitant. I guess I do mainly have my demons to accuse of that, but I've also had dreams. No, not dreams— visions. Like I'd had with Bella and the van all those months ago. And many others after that. But it wasn't only visions anymore; I was also having many flashbacks.

Shaking those nostalgic thoughts away, I grabbed my bag and keys and headed for the door. I announced I was leaving for a few hours and reminded my siblings to have their bags ready for when I returned; no matter how much I didn't want to, I was sending them back to Chicago, to Claire. I was going to miss them, but it was for the best. It was for their safety; I was still learning to be a Hunter, so I was in no way qualified to take care of them, even if I did accept the help Jason and Charlie offered.

"Jason will meet us at the airport."

And with that, I was out the door of the house and in my car, driving toward downtown for the Thriftway. I shivered slightly when I walked through the automatic doors as the cool air of the store engulfed me completely, and found myself being startled out of my thoughts for a third time today when my cell phone rang and vibrated from the back pocket of my jeans, the first being at breakfast when Charlie literally startled me out of my seat, then while I was on my way here and an impatient driver honked the horn of his enormous BMW from where he had driven up behind me.

I fished my phone out of my pocket and smiled slightly when I saw who it was.

"Hey, Jessica."

I listened carefully to the first few things she said to me... okay, maybe not carefully— she said something about planning a date with Mike for next week? Or maybe it was something about having asked him out, but him hesitating again... there was a slight whine in her tone, so it was probably the second.

I felt bad.

Sure, when we first became friends, I was pretty distant, mostly because I had no idea how to be a friend. Throughout the midst of our friendship, I became more open, paid more attention and was more understanding, but now? With every new bad thing happening to me, I can't help but get easily distracted, especially when I'd suddenly start to have one of my repetitive visions, or a flashback.

" _Hey, Mila. You okay?_ " I blinked and glanced down at my phone. I forgot I was talking with Jessica.

I let a small smile curl its way onto my lips as I nodded softly, but then I remembered she couldn't see me, so I replied, "I'm fine, thanks."

Jessica sighed. " _I'm guessing you're not gonna be coming with Angie, Ren and I?_ "

I let out a small chuckle. "Sorry," I apologized. "It's just I..."

Jessica had called me earlier this week to ask me if I wanted to hang out with her, Angela and Lauren. I had said yes then since I had somehow begun craving company in that time. I still do, and I don't get it— perhaps it's to do with those eight years of almost absolute isolation, but either way, it was strange from my part mainly because I was more of a loner, like Bella.

Now, don't get me wrong, I actually like those girls— Angela and Jessica more so than Lauren, even though Jessica can talk your ear off with the large gossip she wakes up with every day. What I had come to like more about them was that they didn't hover anymore as much as they used to. Angela was fine as she always was— understanding, compassionate, kind; she didn't need to change. Jessica, on the other hand, had surprisingly become more understanding and space and time giving. So, had Lauren, who had surprised me even more by acting less stuck-up and such. Though she was still often snarky around Bella, she had taken on a softer nature— not really kind, but not snotty or bratty as she used to be.

" _Hey, it's fine_ ," said Jessica. " _I get it... well, I don't really get it per say_ —  _you know, since I've never been through it, but you need some time and space. Just... if you need anything, you know I'm here, okay? So are Angie and Ren._ "

I smiled to myself. "Thanks, Jess. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

" _Okay, see you in school. Bye._ "

"Bye."

I hung up my phone then sighed, brushing some rogue locks of hair away from my face.

"Excuse me, young lady."

I jumped slightly, startled at the sudden voice that came from behind me. I turned around and found a short, thin old lady standing there, seeming to be having some trouble with her almost empty cart.

"Would you please be a dear and help me; my trolley seems to be stuck."

"Oh, of course."

I rushed forward and knelt down to inspect the cart. One of the wheels had accidentally dragged a plastic bag and got it tangled around it. I lifted the cart slightly and rolled the wheel until I could get the bag out. Once out, I stood up straighter and moved the cart a bit, smiling to myself when it went smoothly.

"There you go." I looked back at the woman and noticed how small and frail she was, barely supporting herself with a hand on her cane, and the other on the handle of her cart. "Um... would you like me to help you with your shopping?" I offered.

She looked up at me with a look a grandmother would give to her grandchild she adored. "Oh, would you?"

I smiled and nodded. "Do you have a list?"

"Oh, yes." She reached for her purse she had put on the cart and pulled out from one of the small side pockets, a list written down in a slightly messy and shaky handwriting.

**_-2 dozen eggs_ **

**_-2 milk cartons_ **

**_-1 pack of twelve yogurts_ **

**_-1 bag of flour_ **

**_-2 packs of sugar_ **

**_-Powdered caramel_ **

**_-Chocolate chips_ **

**_-Colored sprinkles_ **

**_-Pack of pencils_ **

**_-Pack of pens_ **

**_-Pack of erasers_ **

**_-3 Notebooks_ **

I blinked. "Wow... er... that's a lot of sweet and dairy products... and writing material?"

The old woman chuckled. "Well, it's like that when you live with a bunch of growing _wolves_."

I smiled slightly; I wouldn't really know what it's like to live with a lot of people; I still haven't even gotten used to living with my 'god' family.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I brightened my smile and held out a hand. "I just realized I haven't introduced myself. I'm Mila. Mila Williams."

She took my hand and weakly shook it. "Isadora Eberhardt."

"Pleasure the meet you, Mrs.  _Eberhardt_."

"Oh, please, dear, call me Dora."

I nodded. "Of course." Then I offered my arm. "Shall we?"

With my help, her shopping hour was cut in half, and she was soon on her way home. I, too, didn't take too long to buy what was needed at home and was soon driving back to Charlie's.

About twenty minutes later, I was alone in the kitchen, putting the groceries away, keeping one ear out on Andrew and Lillian, who were both watching the TV in the living room while they waited for me to finish. When I was done, we were all headed toward my car and off to the airport.

The entire ride had gone silently, the only sound being of the passing cars and the roaring engine of my own. The atmosphere was unusually tense and became even more so when I switched highways and drove up the road that would get us to the airport within the next four minutes; my little brother was the one to break the quietude.

"Do we really have to go?" he asked in a small voice, as I parked the car as close to the entrance as I possibly could.

For a moment there, I didn't reply as I cut off the engine and removed my key from the ignition. I stared blankly ahead of me, throat tightening at the way he asked the question.

"Andy..."

"Why can't we stay with you? You're old enough to take care of us," he continued.

I sighed. "But I'm not stable enough. And I'm not old enough to take custody of you two, Andrew. You know that," I told him, glancing back at him through the rear-view mirror, only to feel my chest tighten; the boy looked close to tears, and so did Lillian.

"Ree-ree..." Lillian mumbled with a stifled sob.

I instantly unbuckled my seatbelt and spun on my seat to face them. "Ah, gee, please don't cry."

"But I don't wanna go back," Andrew insisted.

"Me neither," whispered Lillian.

"Guys, you know it's for your own safety."

"But you can keep us safe," my brother said.

I shook my head. "No, I can't. At least not yet." I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. Okay? I really am sorry, but you just can't stay around me now. I promise I'll come to visit you whenever I can, and I'll apply to have your custody as soon as I'm qualified for it, but I need you both to be patient with me, please," I spoke softly yet firmly. "Just give me some time, that's all I ask. Then we can be together."

"The three of us with Jason?" asked Lilly.

It was strange how much they preferred Jason to my boyfriend. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he was no half leech... but then again, you can't really control who you fall for.

Letting out another sigh, I nod. "The three of us with Jason," I assured them, a silent promise in each of my words.

They both held onto my hands as we walked to the airliner seventeen, where Jason was waiting for us.

"Can we get some snacks?" asked Lillian.

I nodded and handed them each twenty bucks. "Don't go too far."

"Don't worry, we won't," said Andrew before grabbing Lilly's hand and leading her toward the small shops in the airport.

"They are far too adorable for their own good," spoke a familiar voice for behind me.

I chuckled, crossing my arms over my chest, my eyes never leaving my siblings. "Tell me about it." I sighed, casting my friend a sideways glance. "Jason... thank you so much for doing this— you have no idea how much of a lifesaver you are... literally."

The young man standing beside me let out a chuckle. "Considering the fact that you've thanked me for it about a hundred times in the past week, I'd say I have a pretty good idea."

I rolled my eyes at him and playfully punched him on the shoulder. "But really, thank you. You've been more of an older brother to me than my actual older brother."

He gave me a small smile as he pulled me into a warm hug. "Well, I'm glad you see me that way."

Soon, my siblings and Jason were boarding the plane, and I found myself driving to the cold place I hadn't gone in quite a long while since he passed. I'd driven Andrew and Lilly there a few times over the summer, but I, myself, couldn't seem to set foot past its gates. I drove past the many rows of name-engraved stones until I finally reached the familiar path that leads to his. Turning the key in the ignition, then pulling it out, I slowly climbed out of my car, then, with one deep breath, I walked up the small grassy hill, then, once I reached it, grabbed the watering can I had left beside it all those months ago and went to fill it out. After watering the tiny garden I had planted above his spot, I sat down beside it and leaned my head against the cold stone, my journal on my lap and sighed deeply before I began to write.

 _Dear... notebook_ , I decided, since it would be too clichéd to put 'dear diary.' I'd done so for my previous entries, so why change now to something cliché?

_Five big things have happened since my attack in spring break._

_First came my eighteenth birthday in which I managed to make an escape before Alice went all out and threw a huge party. I hate hospitals, but the fact that that's what saved me from the pixie-looking vampire's wrath... well, I was more than relieved, to say the least... that was until I found out she went behind my back and planned a huge party either way, which she scheduled for when I left the hospital. That was the first time I ever felt so stupid for missing the obvious_ — _I was given a dress to wear, even for that occasion. I guess it's safe to say I never liked parties because the only ones I had 'attended' were those in the movies I was occasionally allowed to watch back in the mental institution I had lived in for eight years, and those were far too wild for my liking._

_The second thing that happened was prom... well, technically that'd be the first thing since it happened before my birthday, but... anyway, I hate to admit it, but prom was rather fun. I got to spend my first academic event ever with people I had come to care about, and one I had cared about my whole life. I got to dance with one of the new friends I made when I moved into Forks, and though I admittedly found Jacob rather adorable by the way he would get flustered whenever I found out something that made him feel embarrassed, I actually felt rather uneasy every time he gave me this recurring look I could not decipher. Perhaps it'd been because I didn't know him so well that I didn't know every look he had... but, oh well._

_After prom, Mason popped my cherry. I wasn't embarrassed... but I honestly believe I had never been redder in my entire life, especially when he deliberately and quite literally said that he 'popped my cherry.' Emmett wouldn't let me live it down for weeks, and Rosalie kept teasing me about it too. When I thought things couldn't get any worse, Alice took that as a sign of me 'becoming a woman' and changed my entire wardrobe. I was relieved when she didn't throw away the items that held sentimental value to me, but it was rather exhausting to watch her flash around my room as she cleared it then filled my closet._

_Then, I got my driver's license— Fred and Charlie managed to pull a few strings so I would get it as soon as possible. I am currently still on probation with a permit, but I will soon be a fully eligible driver. Also, I began my training as a Hunter. It was rather difficult as it started with more physical than power training, but I eventually got the hang of it rather quickly. However, toward my third month of training... well, that was when things went downhill for me_ —I sighed—  _and that's how I find myself sitting beside the Alden grave today._

_I found out that the saddest way a supernatural Hunter could lose his life is through an unexpectedly humane accident._

_In_ _the beginning of June, my stepfather, Fred_ Alden _, had dropped off my little brother and sister over at Charlie's so they could spend the day with me. I knew that hadn't been the only reason; he wanted to throw a birthday party for Lilly's seventh birthday, but he knew if he took Andrew with him, the kid would just end up unintentionally blurting the whole thing out. For hours I hadn't heard from him, so I drove over and felt myself_ —

I stopped writing, unable to go any further as the memories from that day came back to me, falling on me like a ton of bricks. After sitting there for a while longer, lost in thought, I finally closed my journal and turned to my stepfather's grave.

"I'm sorry I haven't come so often... I just... I just can't help but feel that it's my fault you're gone." I sighed and leaned forward, pressing my forehead against the cold stone. "Did I do good by sending them back to... to  _Mom_?" I sighed again, shutting my eyes. "I don't know what to do anymore... Dad. Am I doing good by trusting them? The Cullens? Is it a good idea for me to stay with Mason?"

I knew I wouldn't get an answer, after all, I was asking my questions to a man who was no longer alive.

I could feel my eyelids wrinkle slightly as I tried to pull them closer together, tighter so the tears that were threatening to fall wouldn't.

"I don't want to get hurt again," I mumbled, silently cursing to myself as a tear slid down my cheek when I opened my eyes. Wiping it away with a sigh, I lifted my head and pressed a soft kiss on Frederick's gravestone. "I miss you, Freddy. I miss you, and I'm so, so sorry I couldn't be there to help you. To  _save_  you."

With that said... or rather mumbled, I drove back home and locked myself up in my  _refuge_ , where I dropped my emotionally exhausted body on my comfortable bed and let myself drift as soon as I could, not wanting to care about anything at the moment. Just sleep, until the next day came around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_My eyes fluttered open when I heard a light knock on my door._

_"Milarayne? Are you awake?" came the voice of Nurse Joy. "You've got some visitors."_

_A part of me felt surprised because the only visitor I ever had was my stepdad, Fred. Not even Mom, Kevin or Sheryl would come to see me; Lilly and Andrew, they were too young to get why I wasn't home anymore. Another part of me just didn't care anymore; I'd been here for half a year already, I knew I wasn't getting out anytime soon._

_"Milarayne?"_

_I wanted to scream! Her voice only added to the exhaustion and annoyance I felt from having to listen day and night, asleep and awake, to those annoying little demons that had been haunting me since, a month before, the departure of the Nickolaus family. They were always there, laughing at me, screaming at me, telling me awful things like how I should kill someone... They were trying to make a psychotic killer out of me, and though I did not want to give them the satisfaction, it was hard. I knew I was never going to kill anyone. Ever. But become crazy... I wasn't crazy, but my mom thought otherwise._

_That's why I'm here, locked up in this asylum._

_"Milarayne?"_

_I groaned, rubbing my forehead as I tried to drown the demonic giggles from behind me. I did not care if I had visitors, I just wanted to be left **alone**._

_"Milarayne, can I come in?"_

**_I don't care, you'll come in anyway_ ** _._

_Click._

**_Told you_ ** _._

_"Milarayne, your Uncle Charlie is here to see you."_

_At this, I did look up slightly, my silver eyes peering up at a vaguely familiar man through the curtains of my long hair._

_"Uncle Lee-lee," I mumbled._

_From the widening eyes of the nurse, I knew I had shocked her; after all, I hadn't spoken a word since the week after I had been brought here._

_The man with a growing mustache gave me a half-hearted smile. "Hey there, Miles."_

_"I'm going to leave you to yourselves," the nurse said, a perplexed look on her face as she stepped out and closed the door behind herself._

_My eyes never left Uncle Lee-lee until another, smaller figure stepped out from behind him. I could only blink in response to the new presence as it tilted its head to the side and regarded me with big brown eyes, reincarnated from Uncle Charlie._

_I'd been calling the small presence ' **it** ,' but really  **it**  was a ' **she**.'  **She**  was a small thing, with long brown hair that matched her eyes, and frighteningly pale skin. Funny enough, to match the plain color of her hair and her eyes, her shirt, skirt, and shoes were brown as well._

_"How you doin', Miles?" Uncle Charlie's voice broke my attention from the small, skinny girl who was now standing beside him._

_I glanced his way, then looked down at my hands._

_"They think I'm crazy," I croaked. "I'm not crazy..." I paused and peered up at him through my long lashes. "Do you think I'm crazy, Uncle Lee-lee?"_

_Before he could answer, though, the girl replied. "I-I d-don't t-think you're c-crazy," she stuttered._

_My eyes snapped her way, though I did not reply as I hid my surprise. I watched her more closely, tilting my head to the side. "You don't?"_

_"I-I'm B-Bella," was her reply, causing me to furrow my brows. "A-and I-I'm nine years old."_

_My lips thinned as my eyes narrowed at her. "That's not what I asked."_

_She bit her lip for a moment, before standing straighter, brows furrowed; it almost looked like she was trying really hard to look confident._

_"I know, but I felt like I should let you know who I am before I gave you my answer," she replied, surprisingly without a stutter. "I don't think you're crazy_ — _whoever said you were is stupid."_

_I don't know how it was even possible, but her face paled as she glanced up at her father with guilt streaked eyes._

_"S-sorry, Daddy," she stuttered._

_Uncle Charlie chuckled and patted her head. "It's alright, Bells."_

_Bella's face lit up before she looked at me and repeated, "Whoever it was is stupid."_

_I gave her a blank look, and bluntly replied, "My mom had me put in here because she thought I was crazy." And she paled again. "Don't get all worked up about it; I don't like her anyway."_

_I noticed Uncle Charlie frown at my words, but he remained silent, watching the interaction going on between me and... his daughter, I assumed._

_Bella then pursed her lips, her brows furrowing slightly as her hands latched onto the hem of her shirt. "But it doesn't matter what she thinks, does it? As long as you know you're not crazy, then you're not."_

_I frowned slightly, looking down at my hands. "Sometimes it feels like I am. The way they look at me... I hate it. I don't like it here... I... I just want to get out. I just... I wanna go..."_

_Go where? **Home**? Was it even my home anymore?_

_"Don't worry, you will soon," Bella said, looking at me with a bright smile as she walked over to stand in front of me. "And if you still don't like your mama then and don't want to stay with her, you can stay with us. Right, Daddy?" she said, casting a glance back at her father._

_He smiled at the both of us and nodded. "Of course."_

_She then looked back at me, her smile never wavering as she held a hand out to me. "I'm Isabella Swan, but I prefer Bella; I'm nine years old," she repeated._

_I stared at her for a long moment and started feeling bad when I noticed her smile begin to fade. Her smile seemed like a very rare thing to see, and I didn't want the first genuine one I got in months to disappear just because I was rude._

_Mustering up as much courage as I could, I forced a smile that came out much sincerer than I expected. I then reached out, took her hand and shook it._

_"I'm Milarayne Williams, but I prefer Mila," I said softly. "I'm nine years old too."_

_And her brightening smile only made my heart feel lighter as it brought me something I thought I would never feel again._

_Hope._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the first time in a long time, I calmly awoke from my slumber. Dull gray light, the familiar light of an overcast morning, took the place of the dull white wall in my dream.

 _Just a dream_ , I told myself sadly, as I reminisced the first time someone had believed me when I said I wasn't crazy... but then again, that was a long time ago. Then, there were no voices in my head taunting and mocking me. Then, when I had begun hearing them, I was able to tune them out easily, telling myself they weren't real. But, as the years passed, they somewhat took on a more realistic presence in my mind, their voices becoming the voices of demons I could see all too clearly.

I took a deep breath, ignoring the taunts ringing in my ear, then jumped slightly, startled when my alarm went off. The little calendar in the corner of the clock's display informed me that today was September thirteenth.

Today was Bella's birthday. She was officially eighteen years old... not nine like both of us had been in my dream.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I thought how much Bella had been dreading this day for months; all through a perfect summer for her, this bleak date undoubtedly lurked in ambush for her, waiting to spring.

When I went to brush my teeth, I was almost surprised that the face in the mirror hadn't changed from the last time it had on spring break. I don't know why I stared at myself, expecting to see big silver eyes instead of big brown doe eyes, or even younger features on a smaller face and darker skin. Perhaps it was because that was what I looked like in the memory I dreamt overnight. I couldn't understand why, as my eyebrows lodged in a worried line over my anxious brown eyes, I felt like I was staring back at a stranger rather than myself when I had, in fact, gotten used to my new complexion.

That memory was in some ways very dear to me because it was the day someone truly believed me. But it was also my worst nightmare; it was the day I came to terms with the fact that the supernatural was real and found out I was really cursed.

I skipped breakfast, in a hurry to get out of the house as quickly as possible. I wasn't entirely able to avoid Charlie, and so I had to spend a few minutes acting as cheerful as I was known to be— basically my sarcastic self. I honestly tried to be excited enough to cheer Bella up as much as I could on the day she dreaded the most, but every time I had to smile, it felt like I might start crying; I wasn't feeling any better myself.

I struggled to get a grip on myself as I drove to school. The vision of my younger, genuinely innocent-self was hard to get out of my head. I couldn't feel anything but despair until I pulled into the familiar parking lot behind Forks High School and spotted a group filled with familiar faces.

Despair momentarily vanished; wonder took its place. Even after half a year with him, I still couldn't believe that I deserved this degree of good fortune.

I climbed out of my car, shouldering my book bag, and momentarily glanced over at Bella who climbed out of her own truck parked beside mine. I saw her glance around and felt the urge to roll my eyes when I saw her looking around the parking lot, undoubtedly seeking Bronzy.

"Wherefore art thou, Mila?" a voice suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts.

I turned and smiled slightly when I saw Mike, Eric, Angela, and Jessica approach.

"You finish the Shakespeare assignment?" Mike asked me, just as Bella rounded my car and came to stand beside me.

"He means will you finish his assignment?" said Jessica, a smirk on her face.

I chuckled as Mike's face reddened. "No, I don't— okay I do."

"I can help you with it," Bella chimed in. "But first—" She held out the camera Charlie had given her this morning for her birthday. "I need a picture. My mom's expecting a scrapbook full of memories."

Angela's face became flushed as she stepped back and held out her own camera. "I-I take 'em, I don't pose for 'em," she interjected.

Bella smiled and shook her head. "You do today."

She then pushed Angela to the others; who arranged themselves for the picture that was about to be taken.

"You'll photoshop my nose if it looks big, right?" Jessica asked.

Eric looked her way and gave her a cheeky grin. "Don't worry, I'm in the picture; no one will be looking at you guys."

Jessica scoffed, while Angela pointed her camera at Bella, making me step away instantly, not wanting to be a part of all that. However, before the cameras flashed indicating the taking of the pictures, I was suddenly pulled into the huddled group by Jessica, causing me to playfully glare at her when it had become too late for me to pull away as the lights of the cameras flashed, and the photos were taken.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze, and my heart became incredibly light as I embraced the moment that was just simply... fun and delightfully carefree. The moment, however, soon ended when the cameras lowered. The playfulness in the air had dissipated when I noticed my friends staring at someone behind Bella. I turned and felt my heart leap, and yet drop slightly when I saw Mason climbing out of polished red BMW, and Edward, a little further, climbing out of his own vehicle.

"Oh, good. Di Angelis and Cullen's here." I did not fail to notice the dryness in Mike's voice as he stated the obvious.

I bit my lip slightly when I heard Jessica's equally dry retort. "Yay."

My friends, undoubtedly uncomfortable, began to move off.

"Check ya later," said Eric.

I stared off after them, a frown on my face as I suddenly realized my younger siblings were not the only ones to dislike my boyfriend and the Cullens.

"Don't frown, you'll get frown lines on your forehead," a soft voice mumbled, startling me into a jump as I felt a warm breath brushing against my ear and a pair of strong arms wrapping around my waist.

Ignoring the little demons in my mind suddenly hissing at me to stake my boyfriend in the heart, I turned in his arms and wrapped my own around his neck as I placed my lips upon his before he could add anything else.

"I missed you," I blurted out, biting his lip through the sensual kiss.

"It wouldn't be the case if you didn't avoid me so much," he replied, pressing his lips a little harder against mine.

I resisted the urge to cringe at his reproach.

"I haven't been avoiding you," I denied, pulling away from the kiss and avoiding his eyes.

He sighed, his arms tightening around me. "Mila, I've barely seen you all the summer after he...  _passed_. And it's been almost two weeks since we've come back to school, and I've barely seen you here either."

I bit my lip, my cheeks flushing slightly. "I'm not avoiding you," I insisted, though my attempt at convincing him I was right was weak.

He gave me a flat look. "You've kept your window locked at night."

"... well... I've found out... through my... transition into the life of a normal human being.... that no one should leave their window open at night. People get robbed like that. Even worse! Kidnapped. Don't want that happening now, do we?" I could feel my face practically red from the obvious lie.

I never thought I would be grateful to Bronzy for speaking up in my moment of deer caught in headlights.

"Happy birthday," he told Bella rather loudly.

My own worries washed away as I half-heartedly chuckled when I saw her face fall at the mention of the day she seemed to have come to hate the most.

"Don't remind me," she grumbled.

"Your birth is definitely a day to celebrate," he insisted.

"He's right, Bells," I chimed in, fighting back a smirk. "It's not every day you turn eighteen."

"You're just saying that because you'll probably be stuck looking it for the rest of your life," she muttered, and though it seemed as though as soon as she said those words she regretted it, that didn't stop me from wiping my face of any emotion as I pulled away from our gathered quartet and started my way toward the entrance of the school.

"Mila, I'm sorry," I heard Bella say as she audibly scrambled on her feet, almost tripping as she tried to keep up with my quick pace, which Mason and Edward had no problem mirroring.

"I don't even get what your big deal is,  _Isabella_. So, you're turning a year older. So what? At least  _you_ 're growing up. At least you're normal while we're stuck being these... these—" I cut myself off with a huff. "For gosh's sake, you should be creeped out that you're dating such an old guy, not worried that you're getting older!"

Edward smiled slightly at my words, amusement flickering in his golden eyes. "Yes, it's the age that's creepy, not the fact that you're dating a vampire."

And we all cracked a smile.

"Sorry for overreacting," I apologized in a mutter.

Bella gave me a small smile as she shook her head and stepped forward, taking my hand in hers. "It was my fault; I started with the offensive words."

Then Mason cleared his throat, placing a hand on the small of my back. "We should go to class."

I looked at him and nodded. "Right. Class."

We all started heading toward the entrance of the school once again but suddenly stopped when Edward halted in his step, an irritated look on his face.

"Someone wants to see you," he said, though, for some strange reason, I felt as though it was more directed at me.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang through the parking lot. "Mila! Bella!"

_Uh... why did my name go first?_

Bella and I simultaneously turned around, seeking the source of the voice and I admittedly found myself surprised to see a sixteen-year-old Jacob Black jogging up, carrying a used car part, long, black ponytail wagging. He still looked older than his actual age— eighteen to be more precise, though it was mostly due to his tall, muscular body. However, it was clear the gregarious Jacob was still a little klutzy, still catching up to his growth spurt. He nodded to Edward and Mason, both who moved off to the side but eyed us.

"Gods, Jacob, what are they feeding you on that rez, steroids? You're huge," I found myself blurting out, earning a small laugh from Bella.

A faint rosy blush creamed its way onto the boy's russet-colored cheeks. "Wouldn't seem so drastic if you came around more. Er... the both of you, that is."

"We will, soon. But isn't your school, like, ten miles that way?" Bella asked.

"Just here buying this for the Rabbit," he said, motioning towards the part he was holding. "I'm almost done with the rebuild. Gotta come take a ride when it's done." As if remembering, he then added, "Oh, and hey, happy birthday. Your dad told my dad. So..." He pulled from his jeans' pocket a small woven bracelet and handed it to Bella. "Rachel makes a bunch of 'em and left a whole lot at home before she had to leave again. Thought you might like it."

Bella smiled as she accepted the gift, slipping her hand through the bracelet and letting it dangle neatly from her thin wrist.

I watched curiously as Jacob then reached a hand into his jacket, then pulled a small woven dream-catcher from the inside of his coat, feathers dangling from it. I then blinked in surprise when he held it out to me.

"I saw it the other day and thought of you— it catches bad dreams," he told me, a small, shy smile on his lips.

I hesitantly took it from his hand and gave him a small, slightly awkward smile. "Uh... it's great, but it's not my birthday."

He gave me a small shrug as he shoved his hand into his pocket. "Belated birthday gift."

At that, my smile shifted out of its awkwardness and turned genuine. "Thank you, Jacob."

Before the boy could even think of an answer, Bronzy decided to be rude and cut into our... admittedly short conversation. "The bell's about to ring."

And, sure enough, the bell rang.

I watched as Jacob gave Edward an amiable smile, with just a hint of snark. "Ooh, look at you, all psychic."

"I don't have that particular gift, but I can read a watch. I'm clever that way," Edward replied coolly, sharing a visibly tight smile with Jacob.

Finding this to be absolutely ridiculous, I interceded, reaching forward and squeezing Jacob's arm, ignoring the tension I felt building up inside my boyfriend.

"Bye, Jacob, and thank you," I said, giving him a warm smile.

"Yeah, thanks, Jake," said Bella before Bronzy and still Massive-pain-in-the-ass steered us away.

As we walked off, Edward spoke up. "How come Jacob Black gets to give you two gifts, and we don't?"

"Because he knows to give people something simple and useful," I replied without missing a beat.

Bella rolled her eyes at me and said, "He's just a friend."

"'Friends' don't spend two weeks looking for the perfect dream-catcher," Edward retorted, giving me a flat look.

I scowled at him. "Stop reading his mind if he bothers you so much."

"Little hard to tune out."

"Not if you actually try," I replied dryly while Bella laughed when she saw Mason look back at Jacob with resentment.

I glanced back slightly and saw Jacob hold his gaze. Rolling my eyes at them, I spun on my heels and marched towards the school entrance, Bella walking beside me. The walk remained quiet for a moment until we reached the entrance. However, the moment we stepped through the double door, a small, wrapped gift suddenly appeared before us, practically shoving its way into Bella's face.

Following the hands that were holding it, I found the pixie-looking vampire, Alice standing before us with a beaming smile on her pale face as she presented the gift to my godsister.

"Happy—"

"Shh!"

"Birthday!" Alice finished in a whisper before she threw her arms around Bella and pulled her into a hug.

Behind the pixie vampire, I noticed Jasper keeping his distance. He offered us a pleasant nod as Bella then tried to hide Alice's present, no doubt hoping no one noticed.

"Alice, didn't I say no gifts?"

Alice gave her a smug look. "You did. I didn't. I've already seen you open it and guess what? You love it."

"You had a vision about my birthday," Bella said, regarding her dubiously.

"And about the green dress you'll be wearing to your party this Saturday. Great color on you."

"... My party?"

I smirked and leaned forward, bringing my lips close to Bella's ear. "Who's laughing now?"

"Please? It'll be fun."

"Parties are not fun," I muttered.

Bella was silent for a moment, a confused look clouding her face. "I... guess I can deal—"

"Great! It'll be at seven!" Alice cut her off quickly with a hug before she raced off.

"What just happened?" Bella mumbled.

I stared blankly after the pixie-looking vampire for a moment before realization hit me. "Hey, Jasper, no fair with the mood control."

Bella's eyes widened when it hit her too. "Hey!" she said, giving the vampire a look of accusation.

He offered an apologetic bow before Alice dragged him away.

"Vampires," I grumbled, knowing I would be forced to attend the stupid party.

"You can't trust them," Edward agreed.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Says the bronz…ly-headed vampire."

" _'Bronzly'_  is not a word," he said, amusement twinkling in his golden eyes.

Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I began to make my way toward my first class.

"It is now," I replied over my shoulder before heading off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_"Hey, Mila." There was that smile he had whenever he greeted me. That smile that brought light whenever he came to see me in this dark, hellish pit. "I got you something."_

_I cocked my head to the side, looking up at him with questioning eyes. I watched curiously as he pulled up onto his lap a small black box, almost as long as my arm, though shaped rather oddly._

_Looking up from the object, I looked at him with puzzled eyes._

_Chuckling, he opened the box and brought out what I suddenly recognized as a guitar, ridiculously smaller than your average one. It was so tiny, made perfectly for someone my size._

_"I thought it'd be a good idea to teach you something that'll keep you entertained whenever you feel the need to be."_

_My eyes widened slightly before softening upon the man I now saw as my father._

_"Thank you, Fred," I whispered, taking the instrument when he held it out to me._

_"Here, I'm gonna teach you one of my favorite songs."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had never been as bored as I was today in English class. It wasn't the new teacher— Mr. Schuester's fault. He was a great teacher who, for some reason, also happened to teach Spanish class… he was a great teacher— full of ambition, enthusiasm, and passion. I guess that would be expected of someone as artistic as himself; he was, after all, also the director of the Joy Club... or was it the Glee Club? Anyway, he directed this small club that, from what I heard, involved music. I'd be lying if I said the mention of it hadn't peaked my interest at first. However, I didn't feel ready to approach anything that would remind me of certain people that meant a lot to me.

 _Anyway_ , as I was saying— I was  _so_ bored, that I quite literally tried to force myself to sleep as soundly as most of my classmates while others found Shakespeare's  _Romeo and Juliette_  oddly interesting, even more so when Bronzy decided to be a show off by reciting Romeo's lines.

After that class, I had gym where I was more than willing to participate now that I knew how to control my strength. We practiced soccer today, and my play in the game was that of a goalie. I don't mean to brag, but... I nailed it. Following gym class, I had a free period, so I decided to take a cold shower in the girls' locker room to shake away the visions I kept having. They all looked the same when I had them, so I could never tell if it was my foresight, or if it was just a flashback.

On my way to the locker room, I was stopped by a pair of girls standing in a hallway with cringe-worthy smiles. One of the girls, the shortest, stood rather tall for someone who was unbelievably small— smaller than even Jessica, which I believed to be impossible. She had dark wavy hair that fell just past her shoulders and was dressed in the most colorful clothes I had ever seen. The flowery skirt, and bright pink and orange cotton shirt looked good on her, but there was only so much I could handle when it came to colorful outfits.

Beside her, was a petite blonde who wore a much plainer ensemble. It was a simple white dress, with beige-colored flowers. I knew who she was— she was Quinn Fabray, the captain of the cheerleading squad we had in this school. That, and she'd been in my gym class last year; it was hard to forget someone with her competitiveness.

Quinn was a very nice girl, but she was much more chipper than Jessica, and, again, there was only so much I could handle.

"Hi! You're Mila. I'm Rachel; any interest in auditioning for our music group?"

I eyed the flier, then the Rachel girl and Quinn, who sent me an apologetic smile. "A music group. Oh, right, that's… still a thing. Joy Club, right?"

I noticed Rachel's brow twitch and could only fight back a snort.

"The Glee Club," she corrected. "We sing and perform covers of songs. A few originals, but mostly covers."

I nodded, feigning interest. "Wow," I said.

"So, are you interested?"

There was a hopeful edge in Quinn's voice that instantly made me want to say yes; it may have had to do with her innocent Christian girl persona, albeit her being a cheerleader. Even then, however, I chose to be honest.

"I don't know. Seems pretty lame."

There was a somewhat menacing look that crossed Rachel's face as she stepped forward, though, in all honesty, I found it rather comical to see such a look on the face of a very petite girl.

"Excuse me? Synchronized lady dancing to a 'Mariah Carey'-chart-topper is not lame."

I blinked, my eyes blank at her remark before I looked over at Quinn, puzzled. "Is it normal that I only understood Mariah Carey in her whole sentence?" I muttered.

"We sing all over the world and compete in national championships," Quinn chimed in.

"On purpose?" I asked, eyeing them dubiously.

"We played the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, you bitch!" Rachel exclaimed herself, causing me to take a step back in surprise at her outburst.

Quinn quickly stepped forward, between Rachel and me. "What Rachel means to say is that we're a close-knit, talented group of people whose dream is to reach the national finals at Lincoln Center this year." She then smiled brightly as she offered me a sign-up sheet. "Help us turn our dreams into a reality?"

"Have you  _really_  performed outside the walls of this school?" I asked, eyeing Rachel doubtfully.

When the girl's face reddened, I knew my suspicions were correct. From what I knew so far, the Joy Club had only begun a week or two before my eighteenth birthday; there was no way they'd even had the time to make the club well known even within the school. Perhaps this was why they were trying to get more people to join.

Eyeing the sheet one last time, hesitant, I looked back up at Quinn, and gave her an apologetic smile as I declined, "Sorry, I'm not really a singer so... it was nice meeting you."

And then I was on my way, once more, to the locker rooms.

When I stood under the freezing water, I closed my eyes and did my best to drown out the jittery voices of the girls that were gossiping in the neighboring stalls. I could do no more than zone in and out a few times as their voices were practically as annoying as those of my demons, only higher pitched.

Finally having enough of their obnoxious giggles, I took a deep breath and softly began to hum a soft melody, running my fingers through my hair as I would have over the strings of my guitar.

" _When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be_ ," I sang in a whisper.

It was only when I made it to the chorus of the beautiful song that I realized I had begun singing at the top of my lungs. But by then, I honestly didn't care anymore. I gave no damn if I was heard, or judge for pouring my soul through words of such a wonderful classic while standing under a freezing shower.

" _Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be; there will be an answer. Oh, let it be, let it be, let it be; whisper words of wisdom, let it be_."

Suddenly, I felt eyes on me, causing me to instantly frown as I knew that would be impossible. I was in the  _girls_ ' locker room; privacy was the biggest rule amongst us, and the only one we all really respected. Letting my voice fade, I chanced a glance behind me and let out a startled shriek when I found a girl standing there, stark naked, with a huge smile on her face.

" _You_  can sing!"

"Oh, my _God_!" I gasped, quickly bringing an arm up to cover my breast, while I brought the other down to cover my womanhood.

"How high does your belt go?"

I gave her a puzzled and incredulous look. "My what?!"

"The tone of your voice is beautiful. You have to audition for Glee!"

I wanted to glare at her but instead looked away. "I can't concentrate on anything you're saying till you cover your junk."

"Just consider it."

Huffing slightly in irritation, I reached for the curtain and drew it close, but it was only pulled open once more by the girl whose name I realized I did not know.

"Seriously, woman, I am  _nude_ ," I grumbled.

"You were singing 'Let it be' right?"

"What, have you been living under a rock?" I retorted sarcastically.

"I love the Beatles—"

"This is no place to converse about music!"

"Sing it for me?" she said, completely ignoring what I said.

"What?! No!"

"Fine, sing something else. Anything."

"No! Get the hell out of here!"

"Look, I'm not leaving here until you sing, so..."

I groaned. "This is ridiculous."

"Maybe," she said, before giving me a defiant look. "But I can stand here all day."

I groaned. "I don't have time for this!"

"Well, then make some."

I rolled my eyes, then, reluctantly, started to sing. " _When the broken-hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer; let it be..._ " Breathing in through my nose, I went on, though not without pausing for a second to make sure I was covering my private parts well enough. " _For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see... there will be an answer, let it be..._ "

I took a deep breath, seeing as she was still not leaving, then proceeded to descend into the chorus.

" _Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be; there will be an answer, let it be. Oh, let it be—_ " I was slightly taken aback when the girl, whose name I realized I had yet to learn, joined in, singing a few notes higher to harmonize with me. " ** _— let it be, let it be; whisper words of wisdom, let it be_**."

When we finished the song, I didn't care about how moved the singing had made me feel, I simply ushered her out of my stall, ignoring her protests and comments about how I should be proud of my body, then quickly left before anyone else walked in and forced me to sing as well.

A little while later, as I was walking down the hall, I suddenly halted mid-step when my vision, all at once, clouded before me. Suddenly, I wasn't standing in the middle of the hallway on my way to my locker; I was standing in the middle of a dark hallway in what looked very much so like the kind of mansion one would see in a scary movie. I glanced momentarily behind me, then up ahead of the seemingly endless hall, swallowing hard as I took a step forward, wincing slightly as the floor creaked beneath me.

Suddenly, a pair of masculine voices caught in the midst of an argument pulled my attention to a door left slightly ajar, just a few feet away from where I stood. Inhaling deeply, then letting out a shaky breath, I picked up my feet and quietly headed towards the door.

Pushing the wooden door further in, I slid through the small space and into a dimly lit room, my breath hitching in my throat when I found two familiar figures in standing across the room, arguing near the roaring fire in the chimney, both seemingly completely unaware of my presence.

I looked closer, then shook my head. This couldn't be them.

Suddenly, a pair of emerald green eyes and another of a startling tanzanite blue hue found their way to my own wide brown orbs. What made me feel slightly relieved was the way they seemed to look through me. And when I say, 'through me,' I mean it literally; it's like they couldn't see me. Like I wasn't really there.

Following their gaze, I glanced behind me, only to find the twins that had tried to kill only months ago. My jaw tightened slightly as I glared at them, wanting nothing but to punch their faces. Within the next second, though, the female was across the room as well, pinning the man with the green eyes against the wall beside the fire.

"You will listen and do as my brother said," she growled. I couldn't tell what expression was currently on her face, though I had seen many of hers before, so I had no doubt it wasn't the best sight to witness. "Don't forget that you owe us your life. So, you better pay up."

"Now, now, Kira," said her twin from where he stood behind me. I would've glared at him for smirking like the jackass he is, but I was too caught up on the sight at the other end of the room. "Mason, here, is our guest. We mustn't mistreat him."

"Keeran's right," said a new voice, which forced me to look back behind me.

 _Oh, Gods, not him_.

"Shut up, Cade, no one asked for your input," the youngest Nickolaus growled under her breath.

Rolling his eyes, he stepped past his brothers and sister to stand right in front of their 'guest.' Eyeing him with an unreadable glint in his eyes, Cade spoke lowly, his voice soft and smooth like marmalade spreading on a slice of bread. "Now, Mason. Before you go, please go over what you're meant to do in order to begin paying you debt toward us."

Mason seemed to swallow hard as he was released from the female Sidetracker's grip. "I must go to Forks."

Cade smiled deviously, nodding to him in encouragement. "Go on."

"I must look for Milarayne Williams, who will be going to live with her godfather."

My mind seemed to block everything else that was said after that as I froze in shock, my heart seemingly dropping to my stomach; Mason... he worked for them? No, that's... that's impossible... right? He wouldn't...

"Mila!"

I blinked a couple times, slowly collecting myself as I was pulled back into reality, suddenly finding myself staring down into a pair of blue eyes filled with worry. Blinking again, I realized it was Jessica who was standing in front of me. Then, glancing around, I noticed the hallway filled with students, all chattering about, crowding around lockers, some going off to the cafeteria.

"Is it lunch already?" I mumbled, running a hand through my hair.

Jessica nodded. "Are you okay? You were kinda zoned out here for a while."

"I... er, yeah. I, uh, just got a lot in my mind."

Jessica smiled slightly. "Then maybe it's best we go eat; Bella told me you haven't been eating much lately." A frown made its way onto her usually smiling face. "I know you're feeling... down, for recent events, but I don't believe starving yourself to death would do you any help."

I cringed slightly at her last comment, then let my face fall, glancing down at the ground, suddenly feeling ashamed of myself.

"I know it must be hard, what you're going through, but please, Mila, don't do this to yourself. I'm sure Fred wouldn't have wanted that."

You may be wondering why, Jessica, out of all people who actually knew my stepfather, was on a first name basis with the deceased man. Well, let me tell you now, she's not the only one. Angela and Lauren were too. A little while after prom, they would come with me sometimes when I would go hang out with Fred and my siblings when it would just be spending time together rather than training me. The girls had gotten to know him and like him a lot; they had even started calling him Uncle Fred at some point, but he had insisted they only call him by his full name only, or Fred— his nickname.

I looked at her for a moment, then let out a small breath, before pulling my lips upward in the best smile I could muster. "You're right, he wouldn't." I linked my arm with hers, earning myself a bright smile from the petite brunette, and said, "Let's go eat."

Jessica bobbed her in a nod, giggling slightly. "Great! I'm starving."

My mood lifted slightly as we were soon joined by Angela and Lauren, though the atmosphere around us visibly soured when Bella came as well, Edward in toe, emitting a sigh out of me. Whenever I would be in Bella's company and Edward would be there, the pair of them would drag me to their table; the girls didn't like them because of that. Now, don't get me wrong, I do... not hate the Cullens, but I was still rather hesitant and skeptical about hanging out with a bunch of vampires.

The walk into the cafeteria felt incredibly long due to the tension in the air, and I suddenly found myself wondering where Mason was. However, as I thought back to the vision I'd had earlier, and to the already tense atmosphere between my friends, I was glad he was nowhere in sight; things were awkward and uncomfortable enough as they were.

I grabbed myself a tray of food and went straight to the fruit-salads, though after noticing the look Jessica was sending me, I sighed and made my way to the line where the lunch ladies were serving the cooked meals. I grumbled slightly under my breath when she placed a large white plastic plate on my trey.

Walking up to the first lunch lady, Flo, I forced a smile on my face and asked her, "How're you doing?"

The dark-skinned lady chuckled at me, raising a brow. "Finally getting something the eat, honey?"

I gave her a sheepish look, scratching the back of my head. "Yeah, what would you recommend?"

Flo gave me a blank look before shrugging, then saying, "Not this stuff. I don't know what half of it is."

I blinked, giving her an incredulous look before shaking my head. I glanced over at Jessica and whispered over at her. "This is why I don't eat here." Turning back to Flo, I couldn't stop the grimace on my face as I said, "Just... serve what you think is most edible, please." I paused for a second, pursing my lips as I looked at the food. "No meat," I quickly added. "That doesn't look very consumable."

"Just give me a minute, Hon," said the lunch lady.

I nodded and shifted my eyes back to the food as I waited. I hadn't noticed the couple of guys walking up behind me until one called out my name and started hitting on me. I flushed with irritation; it was bad enough some girl caught me nude in the shower earlier and actually checked me out then, I didn't need a bunch of more idiots ratting on about me too.  _Sigh_. I should've stayed home.

"Seriously? You cut past, at least, ten people in line just to talk to me?"

The blond boy shrugged. "You have insane hair," he said, trying and failing miserably at looking seductive, as he inched closer to me and picked one of my brown, messy and wavy locks between his fingers, twirling it slightly.

I blinked, brows furrowing slightly, weirded out by this creep. "Yeah," I said slowly, letting out a small, unamused laugh as I grabbed his hand and pulled it away from my hair. "There's a long and sad story behind it."

Behind me, I heard Jessica and Lauren snort at the slight sarcasm in my tone.

"I'm sure I'd like your story."

I rolled my eyes as I took a step away from the guy. "Seriously, dude, have you been living under a rock? I have a boyfriend, so back off," I sneered at him, grabbing my trey and starting to make my way past Jessica to take a place between Angela and Bella further down the line.

"I don't see this boyfriend o' yours anywhere, sweetheart."

I groaned, rolling my eyes again, then found myself almost choking on my own spit when said boy— sorry, man... elder...whatever he's considered now— was suddenly behind the blond jackass trying and failing miserably at flirting with me.

"Turn around." I suddenly forgot all about what I had seen during my trance earlier by how hot he looked in this moment as his voice came out deep and threatening. A cold smirk curled onto his lips usually smiling face as he looked down at the boys, literally towering over them. "Now you see him."

The blond's friend was visibly shaken by my boyfriend's appearance, though the blond himself remained unimpressed. "I don't see much."

I laughed horribly loud, ignoring the few looks we were getting. Giving the blond a fake smile when I had his attention once more, I said, "Funny. I thought the exact same thing when I saw you."

"Hey! They're serving buffalo nuggets!" said Jessica, trying to brighten the atmosphere before things got ugly. "Well, that's good news!" A frown then replaced her smile when she seemed to realize something. "Not for the buffalo, though."

The guys were about to get into each other's faces, but I quickly stepped in between them. "School, peeps. Don't forget that, if you don't want to get detention or suspended. 'Cause then I might forget, and things won't be pretty."

My little threat wasn't exactly threatening as it was vague, clean, and gave nothing away. However, it was good enough to get them to settle down and head back to their places in line, minding their own business.

"What took you so long?" I grumbled under my breath, pulling Mason to stand beside me.

"I was looking for you," he replied. "Why do I still get the feeling you're avoiding me?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, then said, "I'm not. I was in the girls' locker room, taking a shower."

"All through free period?"

I opened my mouth, then grimaced as I remembered what perspired in the locker room. "... it's a long story." I smiled at the next lunch lady I passed as she served me some veggies and mashed potatoes. "Hi, Miss Rose."

"Hey, there, Mila," the woman greeted me with a smile.

Millie was a very sweet woman. Sure, she was...er... a little bit on the overweight side and was often targeted for cruel jokes by the cheerleaders and jocks, but that didn't change the fact that she was a very good person at mind and heart. She was, in fact, one of my favorite lunch ladies since my birthday.

One of the jocks, like the stupid blond from couple moments ago, 'forgot' that I had a boyfriend and wouldn't leave me alone. I was forever thankful it was after school hours and that we were in the parking lot, because I punched him really hard, straight in the jaw, right in front of his team and friends, ridiculing him. The next day, to get his 'revenge' on me, the little asshole dumped a large cup of red fruit-shake or something on me. I don't know what it was, but what I did know was that it was cold and stained clothes like a bitch.

It was sunny that day, so there was no Alice to help me with a change of clothes. I had gone to the bathroom to try to wash off the color, but when my desperate attempts would only worsen the condition of my beige colored shirt, I gave up and remained in the girl's room, shirtless, mad for letting myself get in such a situation. Millie Rose saved me that day, bringing me a new shirt to wear. Well, technically, it was a second-hand shirt rather than a new one, but I wouldn't have cared if it was even torn. This woman, who did not even know me, showed me kindness. That's something I was still not used to.

I thanked her for serving me, then followed Jessica down the line to the salad bar. I smiled a bit more, chuckling here and there at the stupid things she would say that would often make no sense.

However, my chuckles and smiles soon diminished when I heard the unpleasant voice the idiotic blond guy from earlier— geez, I should really learn my schoolmates' names— throwing nasty comments at someone.

"Is that all I get, Jumbo?" I turned around and clenched my jaw when I saw him throwing these insults at Millie. "Why so stingy?"

"They must let you eat all those leftovers, huh?" said his friend.

There was a young girl standing before her, looking rather upset. She was a pretty young girl, about fifteen years old at most, who had pale skin, brown hair, and bright blue eyes that shone with sadness rather than joy as she frowned at the boys making fun of the lunch lady.

"Quit it," she told the boy. "That's my mom."

I blinked in surprise; I had no idea Millie had a daughter.

"Whoa! You came out of that?"

"Were you an only child or do you have a twin who's still in there?" the blond asked.

"Dude, imagine the size of her dumps."

Nostrils flaring, I walked over, head irking with anger. "Enough," I called out to them. "Say you're sorry." I walked over to stand in front of Millie's daughter, glaring at the boys. "To both of them."

The blond snorted. "And if we don't?" he taunted, stepping closer to him, looking down at me with dark brown eyes.

Something seemed to click in my brain, making me see nothing but iron-silver and red. "You know what?" I suddenly spoke in a voice I could not recognize as my own. "Screw it."

I hit the trey of food from his hands, then, when he made a move to shove me, before Mason or Edward could do anything, I grabbed the boy by his wrist, twisted it behind his back, then slammed his head against the aisle of foods, stuffing his face in the pot of hot spaghetti.

"Mila!"

Blinking a couple times, my eyes widened in shock as I realized what I was doing. I pulled myself away from the boy, who was now bleeding from his nose and forehead, staring at him with wide eyes as he looked back at me, terrified. Oh,  _Gods_ , I did that...

Looking around, I noticed all eyes were on me. I was surprised no teachers had shown up yet, though before any did, I finally reacted and bolted out of the cafeteria, out of school and towards my car. I ignored any call out to my name as I locked myself in my vehicle, then practically slammed my key into the ignition, turning it till the automobile roared to life.

Without a second glance behind me, I drove off, no specific destination in mind. Just the desperate need to get away from that place full of building tension and be left alone.


	3. Clever, not so clever...

I didn't go to the woods. As relieving as it might've been, I would've only gotten lost and would've had to wait for Jason to find me during his afternoon jogging session. Even then, that wouldn't have been until another few days, considering he was still in Chicago with my siblings and wouldn't be back for another two days since I had asked him to make sure they settled back in all right.

I had thought of going to La Push. The quietude of the usually empty beach is calming, and since there's usually no one, I wouldn't have had to worry about bumping into people and impatiently enduring their overly friendly 'small talk.' Instead, I wound up on the roof of Port Baku Mall, in Port Angeles; I was less likely to run into someone here than at the beach. If I did, it would most likely just be the janitor, and that, actually, wouldn't be so bad considering the guy didn't really like talking during his working hours. With the job he has though, I wouldn't blame him.

I sighed, looking up from my Calculus homework, gazing up at the multi-colored sky as the sun began to lower for the day.

Huh, I guess I've been here longer than I thought.

Letting out another tired sigh, I shoved my books into my bag and made my way towards the exit, only halting on my step when something caught my attention.

**_(A.N. Obviously, I do not own the following song. It is originally written and sung by The Girl and The Dreamcatcher. I present to you: Glowing In The Dark.)_ **

" **You know how I get when the sun goes down** ," a masculine baritone voice sang softly, gently strumming the chords of an acoustic guitar. " **How it feels when no one's around**..."

I sat on the windowsill of the dome-shaped window, squinting my eyes slightly as I tried to peer at the other side of the dome, through the glass of the window, only catching the tall and slightly lanky figure of a boy; he wasn't so far away from where I sat, but even if he heard me or noticed me, he wouldn't be able to see exactly where I was.

" **I get kind of lost, and I can't see straight** ," he sang. " **Hate it, but it's just what we take**."

I sighed softly through my nose, leaning back against the windowpane behind me, closing my eyes for a moment as I relaxed to the sound of his voice.

" **I've been bitten by the lonely, but when I'm not the only**... **one who feels it, maybe it's sick to say**... **but it helps that you feel the same**..."

I could tell by then, as he trailed off, just replaying the same chords without singing, that he had a writer's block. Those things were real bitches when I was going through those poem assignments for my English class.

"What'd you name it?" I called out to the boy. I chuckled softly when I heard him yelp, startled at the sudden revelation of my presence.

"Who's there?"

"A girl whose name you don't need to worry about," I replied without missing a beat. "So, what'd you name it?"

"Name what?"

I rolled my eyes. "The song you were singing, genius. I may not be a music expert, but I'm pretty sure you would've sung the whole thing by now if it already existed. So, what'd you name it?" I repeated.

"Oh... erm... _Glowing In The Dark_."

I smiled to myself. "Nice," I complimented.

"Erm... thanks."

I heard feet shuffling, and the smile quickly left my face when I realized he was attempting to find out and see who I was. I didn't want that. We didn't know each other, and I saw no point in changing that. I didn't want to add new people in my life, especially if there was a chance I would come to care for them, only to break even more when the day came for me to lose them.

"Don't." He froze. "I know you're trying to find out who I am but trust me: it's best if you don't know."

He was silent for a moment, and so was I. "... but what if you're a serial killer?" His voice cracked.

I cracked an incredulous smile, before laughing loudly. "I am _not_ a serial killer. I'm a teenager, just like you. That is, if you're really not a middle-aged man with a freakishly young voice."

Silence settled upon us once more before I heard him let out an almost shy laugh.

"No, I've still got a long, _long_ way ahead before I even reach my thirties."

I smiled, opening my eyes and gazing up at the sky. "You come here often?"

"Not as often as I'd like. My parents got me on a tight leash."

My smile faded slightly as I thought of my parents. "Lucky you."

"Lucky? I'm practically suffocating with how worried they get over the littlest things. It's like the mere thought of me having a life frightens them."

"I'm sure it's not that bad."

He scoffed. "My mom once took me to the hospital over a paper cut. On my little finger."

"Well, at least she cares. The last time my mother told me she loved me was when I was five."

"... how did she—"

"She's not dead, you idiot."

"S-sorry. You just—"

"Make it sound like she is?" His silence gave me his answer. "Well, it's not that hard when she acts like I died years ago, or like if I'm just that annoying rat living under the kitchen sink."

"S-sorry to hear that," he said softly.

I shrugged to myself. "Eh, it's alright. I mean, I'm used to it, but it's not like I care much about that anymore; I'm not gonna see her anymore... unless she decides to show her face and make amends, though I doubt she ever will."

Silence settled upon us once more, the only sound coming from the cars driving down the streets below us, and the soft strumming of his guitar.

"Did you make it to the chorus?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Writer's block."

I chuckled slightly, then thought for a moment before telling him to replay that last part he had sung. I could tell he was confused by the way he hesitated, but he obliged all the same.

" **I've been bitten by the lonely, but when I'm not the only**... **One who feels it, maybe it's sick to say**... **but it helps that you feel the same**..."

"Keep playing," I told him before I took a deep breath then began singing my idea of a chorus for his song. " _We're glowing in the dark_." I fought back an amused smile as he faltered in his notes, surprise radiating out of him. " _We started from a spark; we're lights that never go out, like we've never been down. Glowing in the dark..._ " I trailed off for a moment, not sure what words I could rhyme with that phrase that would make sense with what else he's written so far.

" **We'll light up Central Park** ," he tried.

I laughed before I jumped in again, a little surprised he harmonized with me, following easily, even when I changed things a little. " ** _We're lights that never go out, 'cause you're here with me now_**."

He slapped his fingers a bit against the strings of his guitar as he seemingly got a little more into it. Suddenly, the slapping and the transition died out, and he strummed softly anew.

Strum. " _Dark days, but it's alright_..."

Strum. " **So fine, every night**..." Strum. " ** _Oh-oh, whoa_**."

And then he was back to playing harder, I could practically picture his fingers waltzing over the strings. " **We're glowing in the dark** , _we started from a spark_ ; **_we're lights that never go out, like we've never been down_**..."

And then we ended on a soft note. " ** _Glowing in the dark_**."

"That... that was awesome," he mumbled.

I smiled again, chuckling under my breath. "Don't go getting an orgasm over it," I teased him before leaving my spot and finally reaching the door. "Have a good night, Mister I'm-far-from-even-reaching-my-thirties."

"... good night, Miss I-am- _not_ -a-serial-killer." I could hear the smile in his voice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Joy Club?! Are you kidding me?!"

Mr. Schuester sighed. "Mila, it's the _Glee_ Club. And, frankly, it's your only other option... unless you'd rather spend the next two months after school in detention?"

"Okay, that is the stupidest question I've ever heard a teacher ask their student."

"Watch your language within the school walls," he warned half-heartedly.

"You're joking, right? Second graders curse worse than the word 'stupid.'"

Completely ignoring my last remark, Mr. Schuester asked, "So, are you in the club or not?"

"I'm not singing."

"You don't have to," he reassured me. "Either way, I need an extra hand in the costume department."

Pursing my lips, I looked him over for a long moment, then huffed, seeing that my options to compensate for my bad behavior from the previous day at lunch were very limited. Ugh, this sucks...

"Fine, whatever."

"You'll have to join some other clubs soon too; look at it as an extra credit job. Anyway, Glee Club at lunch and after-school time. Saturday too."

"I have to come to school on Saturdays?!"

"It's your own fault."

Within the next two days, I found that working in the Joy— sorry, _Glee_ Club's costume department wasn't as bad as I had initially thought it would be. Sure, I was still pretty bummed I had to waste my precious me-time from my free periods, lunch and two hours after school, but then again, it wasn't all I thought of considering I spent most of my time trying to hide my face in the costumes I had to organize as so to not be recognized by Shorty.

Yes, she was in the Club as well— sucks to be her.

Frankly, I was rather surprised to find that Blondie and Shower Girl weren't in the club as well; Quinn for having been promoting the club with Shorty, and Shower Girl... well, she really had a voice worth listening to. I couldn't deny that most of these kids were pretty good singers— the girls could pull off really high notes quite well just as the boys could pull off the low ones. Their harmony, however, wasn't the best. Their group synchronizations were the worst, and not even their dancing could compensate for the lack of synchronization in their voices.

Their dancing was horrendous and having a guy in a wheelchair only made it worse.... and being only six in the club didn't really help their situation.

Saturday was seemingly coming around much more quickly this week, and before I knew it, there were only two days left before Bella's birthday party. I was drifting in and out, my head drooping onto Mason's shoulder as I faintly paid attention to the riddling dialogue of the oh, so famous _Romeo and Juliet_ Mr. Schuester had played on the old television set.

" _Arms, take your last embrace, and lips,_ " said Romeo. " _O you, the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss..._ "

I groaned, wincing slightly when I hit the back of my head against the wall I was leaning on, at the back of the classroom. "Why won't they just kill each other already," I grumbled, huffing under my breath as I twisted slightly in my seat and buried my face deeper into Mason's shoulder, ignoring to the best of my ability the slight rocking of his body as he chuckled at my slightly melodramatic antics.

For a moment, I halted in my silent complaints as I took a minute to glance around me; the room was dark, and I found that I was not the only one who was clearly bored by Shakespeare's masterpiece. Many were using the darkness of the room to their advantage, entertaining themselves with their phones or doing other shenanigans I cared very little for to know in detail; others were trying not to fall asleep, like my fellow trooper, Mike. Mr. Schuester, however, was very entranced by the filmed adaptation of the play, mouthing along with every word.

" _Here's to my love!_ " Romeo drank... whatever it is that was going to kill him in a few seconds. " _O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick._ "

"I hate being... celebrated," I suddenly heard Bella say.

"Come on, the last _real_ birthday any of us had was Emmett’s— I think Bing Crosby was on top of the charts," Bronzy replied. "You’ll be helping us feel normal for a night. There are worse tragedies than a birthday. Look at Romeo. He’s responsible for his wife’s death. Who could live with that?" He was silent for a moment before he added, "Though I do envy him one thing."

Bella blanched out slightly. "Juliet’s alright... if you like that obviously beautiful sort of thing."

"Not the girl— the suicide."

Gosh, leave it to him to make things even more depressing...

"Nearly impossible for my kind. But humans, a little poison, dagger to the heart. There are so many options."

"Why would you even think about that?" Bella asked, clearly appalled.

"I considered it. Once. When James had you trapped."

"I'm considering murdering you right now if you don't shut up," I muttered, practically seeing the faint smirk on his face through my closed lids.

"It wouldn’t have been your fault," said Bella.

"Either way, I had a plan."

"What plan?"

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open, and I turned to stare at the vampire with hard eyes. "You're joking." His eyes snapped my way, but he did not reply. "You're not joking... oh, well, you're officially the king of all morons in the world on my agenda if you ever consider _it_."

Bella looked my way and frowned before looking over at her boyfriend, clearly confused on what I was talking about. "Considered what? What are you talking about?" When Bronzy, again, did not reply, she placed a hand on his arm. "Edward?"

The vampire's eyes remained upon me, the look on his face unreadable. "There are... ways for us. At least one way."

"That you know of," I said, my mutter going by completely ignored.

"I would have gone to Italy, provoked the Volturi..."

"The what?"

I was about to comment when Mr. Schuester suddenly caught us talking and spoke up. "Is there something you’d like to share with the class, Edward?"

I silently snickered at the fact that Edward was caught and not Bella nor I.

"Certainly not," the little bastard replied politely. "But I apologize for being a distraction. Perhaps you should rewind to act five, scene one, line twenty-eight eighty-nine—"

And then he started showing off his rather pathetic set of skills as he ever so poetically recited, " _If you had the strength of twenty men it would dispatch you straight._ "

Mr. Schuester just looked at him, then moved off, clearly intimidated by Bronzy. Bella looked, although slightly amused, seemingly concerned as well, clearly bothered by what Edward had said. While everyone's attention was pulled back toward the movie though, mine was thrown far away from it, my eyes shutting tight as I tried to tune out everything around me. It was admittedly hard to do so when you had two sets of eyes watching you intently, but I pushed myself into ignoring them as I began to drift off to sleep, my head gradually tilting to the side until it rested against my boyfriend's shoulder again.

_"Now, Mason. Before you go, please go over what you're meant to do in order to begin paying you debt toward us."_

_"I must go to Forks."_

_"Go on."_

_"I must look for Milarayne Williams, who will be going to live with her godfather."_

_"And then what will you do?"_

_"I will do everything I must to make her trust me enough to reveal to me her abilities."_

_"What must you tell her if your... half-breedness is ever revealed?"_

_"That I am a half shifter and half vampire, rather than half Sidetracker."_

_"And when the time is right, you bring her to us. We will take care of the rest."_

My eyes flew open, and my body reacted instantly, pulling as far away from Mason as I possibly could. Bella, Bronzy, and Massive-pain-in-the-ass turned to look at me questioningly, but I shot up from my seat and all but ran out the door within the next second when the bell rang.

Whatever was happening... whatever had happened— I couldn't understand. Or maybe I did, but I just couldn't believe it— just _didn't want_ to believe it.

I huffed in irritation as I stalked down through the crowded hallway. I didn't even care of going to my locker, I simply rushed to the classroom in which the stupid Joy Club took place and did my job there, waiting impatiently for the moment I could finally go home.

Friday was quick to come, then Saturday, where I spent most of my day having my ears tortured by yours truly's little demons, as well as the overnight… ly-grown Joy Club; Blondie, Shower Girl, and another... dense blonde had joined the club.

Something had happened to the club, though. Not that I really cared, but for some reason, Mr. Schuester wasn't there. Instead, someone who reminded me of a very hairy Umpa Lumpa was here.

A very hairy... _bitchy_ Umpa Lumpa.

Before my sensitive ears had to suffer from the awful singing, my eyes rested on the small group, my interest somewhat piked unlike ever before by the Joy Club as my hands absentmindedly did the work they were meant to do with the costumes; aligning them in different racks and straightening them out and all that jazz.

The Joy Club geeks were aligned in the choir room, all in a straight line as though they were soldiers being instructed by their Major.

"Okay, please examine your personalized menus," said the little guy as he handed some booklets out to the geeks. "This is what you’re going to be eating for the next six months."

A dark-skinned, burly girl— Mercedes, I think her name was? — flipped through her booklet and frowned. "Um, mine just says coffee."

"Mm-hmm."

"What’s... 'smelt'?" other Shorty asked.

"A pungent, low-carb freshwater fish," replied the Umpa Lumpa. "Okay, let’s start with today’s business. Artie," he looked down at the boy on the wheelchair, "You’re cut. You’re not trying hard enough."

"At what?"

"At walking," the little man sneered.

 _More like a dwarf_ , I thought, glaring at the back of his head. Grumpy. His brothers lost him. Hopefully, the Evil Queen will find him before they do and chokes him to death.

"We can’t be wheeling you around during every number. It throws off the whole dynamic, and it’s depressing."

"So, you’re kicking him out?" Mercedes asked, eying him in disbelief.

"Mm-hmm. Also, you," he told her indifferently. "Youse got to go, Effie."

The boy on Mercedes' right glared deeply at the man. I studied him closely. Dresses almost as fashionably as Alice... hair's combed back perfectly.... his skin is very pale... he's either a different kind of vampire from the ones I know... or he's gay. Please be gay.

"You can’t kick people out of glee club because you don’t like the way they look."

Oh, thank Gods! He's gay. I can tell by the way he spoke, and the way he angrily held himself. Although... I never actually met a gay person, so I'm not a hundred percent sure.

"Uh, why don’t you shut your face-gash," Umpa Lumpa retorted. "And stay away from aerosol cans because you could burst into flames at any second?"

Oh, if I could punch him, I would...

"You three— you’re great," he told the cheerleaders. "You’re perfect. Seriously. Don’t change a thing." When he made it to Shorty, though, he grimaced. "Uh, you— ew, nose job."

"Now just hold on a second," the freakishly tall boy beside Shorty interjected.

"What? What was that, Frankenteen?" said the short man mockingly. "Why don’t you, uh, wipe that dopey look off your face and get some lotion for those knuckles you’ve been dragging on the ground?"

"What is wrong with you?!"

"What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me is that you’re freakishly tall!" You're just freakishly short. "I feel like a woodland Creature." Maybe you are. Or maybe you're just one of the seven dwarves. Grumpy. You do have the brows for it... "Um, am I hurting your feelings? Did I say something wrong? Because I thought you wanted somebody who respected you enough to tell you the truth." Not so harshly! Though I guess I'm not any better sometimes... "But maybe you don’t have the confidence to hear it, hmm? Maybe you need somebody who’s going to lie to you and tell you things like, "you got what it takes." But you know what? As far as I can see, you don’t. So, why don’t you just take a little second, take a breather, and ask yourself, "Do I want to be a winner?"" He chuckled. ""Or not?""

The freakishly tall dude scoffed. "Screw this. I quit."

"Me t-t-t-too," the Asian girl stuttered before grabbing the handles on the back of her friend's wheelchair. "Let’s roll, Artie."

Again, the little asshole was indifferent about the whole affair. "No. Great, great. You know, separate the wheat from the chaff; that’s perfect."

I sighed, stepping out from my shadowy corner. What a great dramatic entrance.

"Wait," I called out to them. As much as I actually dislike Mr. Schuester, he gave me an alternative to having detention stain my permanent record, so I had to return the favor one way or another.

"Barbra Streisand."

By the slightly surprised, yet very confused looks on the other teens' faces, I could only assume I had ruined my own entrance with the confusion I settled upon them with my first words ever addressed to them.

During their previous practice sessions, they had never really seen me, so I could easily guess my presence right now was shocking. I mean, what would a senior be doing in the shadowy corner of a choir room all alone, while everyone else in the room was singing their lungs out?

Stepping further out from my little hideout-in-plain-sight, I took another deep breath before continuing my little on-the-spot speech.

"When Barbra was a young ingénue, everyone told her that in order to be a star, she’d have to get a nose job." I looked at Shorty, who was almost on the brink of tears by now as her eyes shifted to the ground. "Thankfully, she refused."

Her eyes snapped up to meet my own, and I forced a small smile.

"Where’s this going, Dracula?"

I raised a brow at him, unimpressed, advancing toward him. "Okay, listen here, Grumpy. I know I'm dressed in dark clothes and made a quite a dramatic entrance, appearing out of nowhere, but how in Hades am I like Dracula? He's a dude with pale skin— in serious need of a _refill in the sanguinary part of his system_ — that bursts into flames upon being touched by the sun."

When I was right in front of him, I crossed my arms over my chest as I towered over him. I'd grown three inches over the summer, and I was feeling glorious about it. I knew without a doubt that the smirk on my face showed the satisfaction I was feeling about it right now.

"Where I was going with this spontaneous speech of mine, before you so _gracefully_ interrupted me, well... let's see... where was I? Oh, right!" I leaned forward, and told him, "The Joy Club—"

"Glee Club," the others mumbled in unison.

"They don’t need you," I said, completely ignoring their interruption. "Let’s face it, they’re never going to be as good of dancers as that Voice Rush group... or whatever they're called, but they’re gonna win because they’re different." Straightening up my stance, I looked at each one of them individually. "And that’s what makes them special."

Mercedes smirked. "They told J. Lo her booty was too big."

I chuckled.

"Curtis Mayfield was more successful after he became paralyzed," said Wheels.

"Jim Abbott," said the giant kid. Jesus... how tall is he?

"I have no idea who that is," pale skin mumbled.

"He was a one-armed pitcher for the Yankees. Pitched a no-hitter."

Grumpy was reeling. "Okay, so, yeah. Misfits and spaz-heads and cripples can make it, too. That’s great. What’s your point?"

"My point is that you’re fired," I replied simply.

He glared up at me. "You can't fire me."

"No. But they can," I retorted, nodding my head toward the group behind them.

Shorty smiled widely as this, as well as the others... _strangely_ the cheerleaders were the only exception.

"She's right," said Shorty as she stepped forward to tower over Grumpy, which only furthered the hilarity I found in his height. I had nothing against short people, but this man specifically was too funny to look at. "You're fired. And I’m taller than you."

Grumpy now glared up at Shorty. "Barely," he retorted, before grabbing his things as stalking out of the classroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's official. You're avoiding me."

"I'm not avoiding you."

"You pulled away from me in English as if I were fire. Then, you _literally_ ran away."

"I had a stomach ache."

"You don't get sick."

"I never told you I don't sick."

Cue to the humorless chuckle. "Hunters don't get sick."

I came to a stop right at the front door of the Cullens house. Gradually, I turned to face Mason, my own face gone completely blank as I regarded him with eyes full of suspicion. "Mason," I said quietly. "I _never_ told you I was Hunter."

At these words, he averted his gaze, and I knew I caught him.

"Mason," I said, towering over him from the step I had climbed up, so I was about one head above him.

When he didn't look back at me, I grabbed his chin and turned him to face me anew, trapping his face between my hands as I looked him straight in the eyes. "For the sake this tilting relationship, I need you to promise me something. I need you to _swear_ to me that you are and always have been honest with me. That you're not... never have and never will be keeping _any_ secrets from me."

My gaze shifting between his emerald eyes, I said, "Can you do that? Can you promise me this?"

He looked back at me for a long moment, pain evident in his emerald eyes. After two seemingly endless minutes, he finally answered.

"Of course, Mila. I love you— I would never do anything to hurt you."

I knew he loved me. No one could ever fake such genuine emotions. Not before _my_ eyes. Not anymore. However, I also knew why I never said it back. Why I always had a hard time believing him or getting close to him. I was right to react this way. I was right to not believe him at this moment.

 _Of course_ , he said. _I would never do anything to hurt you_.

Very clever from his part. But not clever enough for me to miss his deflection. The first two words were enough of a confirmation. And the fact that he didn't _actually_ promise or swear as I had asked him to only put the cherry on top.

Letting go of his face and leaning away before he could attempt to kiss me, I replied monotonously, "Good."

My breath wavered slightly as I spun on the heels of my flat black shoes, the skirt of my strapless, dark blue chiffon dress fluttering below me. When I stepped inside the Cullens' household, I shrugged off my black blazer and handed it to Alice before following Rosalie into the living room, where everyone else was waiting for Bella to make her appearance. When Alice was momentarily back at my side, she gave me back the gift I'd gotten for Bella; I'd asked the little pixie to simply put it in a small gift box for me... I didn't want to risk Bella to get a paper cut or something, especially not in a room full of vampires.

Finally bringing in the birthday girl, Alice tugging her and Edward to the top of the landing before skipping down the stairs herself, everyone gathered around them and began to give out their respective presents, while Alice took pictures with Bella's camera.

Rosalie gave Bella a necklace. Much like Charlie and Bella's mom's joint gift, Bella then received some others that were joint as well. From Jasper and Emmett, she got a car stereo for her truck, while Edward gave her a CD of songs that he recorded on the piano for her. Choosing to brighten up the mood a bit more, which only worked to a certain extent, Mason gave Bella a first-aid kit as a little joke since she was so accident prone.

My gift, although slightly expensive, was simply a new phone, considering the one she had was... old. I mean, what teenager still owns a flip-phone?

When she went about to open her last gift, though, that's where things got bad.

Huh, so much for trying to keep her from getting a paper cut. How do you get a paper cut from pulling on a ribbon, though? I guess that's something only Bella can do...

The moment the drop of blood slid from her finger and onto the white carpet beneath our feet, I gently pushed her out of the way as I noticed Jasper lunging forward to catch his prey, though, at that same moment, Edward, whom I'm sure had been aiming to push Bella out of the way too, ended pushing me back. My body flew back into the wall a couple feet behind us, and my head hit the glass table lined up against it as I dropped to the ground.

Just great... the one time I choose to dress nicely on my own accord, I get blood spilled all over it.

I slowly sat up once Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett were out of the room.

"At least this proves that I'm not a serial killer..." I mumbled drowsily before I succumbed to the darkness pulling me back away from reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
**Bella's P.O.V.**

Alice tugged me and Edward to the top of the landing, then skipped down the stairs. Following her petite frame, I look down into the living room and let out a small gasp, awed by the sight before me.

Hundreds of pink candles and rose-filled crystal bowls were scattered beautifully about.

Mila, Mason, Rosalie, Esme, Emmett, Carlisle, Jasper and Alice look up at me, all of them stunningly beautiful. At this particular moment, I would have loved to disappear, but then Edward took my hand and lead down the rest of the stairs, where I was instantly pulled into a welcoming embrace by Esme and Carlisle.

"Sorry about all this," Carlisle apologized. "We tried to rein Alice in."

Esme laughed softly. "Like that’s even possible." Then smiling ever so warmly at me, she said, "Happy birthday, Bella."

Before I could even think of formulating my gratitude, a flash practically rendered me blind. I blinked several times as to rid myself of the red and yellow spots clouding my vision, then gave Alice a flat look when I saw her holding _my_ camera.

"Found it in your bag," the petite vampire said, giving me an innocent look. "Mind?"

The little pixie went on to take more pictures without actually waiting for my consent, though it's not like I protested, to begin with; after all, Mom did want me to fill up my scrapbook.

"Dating an older woman. Hot."

I rolled my eyes as I instantly knew it was Emmett who had said this. I turned to give him a half-hearted glare, and, Edward, catching my look, sharply elbowed the bigger vampire.

"What?" Emmett whined.

Suddenly, Rosalie surprised me by walking up to me, though the surprise dimmed slightly when she shoved a silver package at me, then said, "It’s a necklace. Alice picked it out."

Alice then dragged me over to a table piled with elaborately wrapped gifts, a huge cake and a tall stack of china plates.

"Alice, Miles and I are the only ones who even eat cake. That thing could feed fifty."

"Then it's a good thing I can eat for fifty people," said Mason, earning a small laugh from the others in the room. All except for Mila, who I had noticed had been exceptionally quiet as of late.

"Hope you’re hungry," Alice said gleefully. "Here, this one’s from Emmett and Jasper."

The others crowded around, Jasper keeping his distance, I noticed. No fan of being the center of attention, I quickly opened the gift to find an empty car-radio box.

Confused, I looked up at both men and smiled awkwardly. "Um... thanks?"

"Already installed it in your truck," Emmett explained with a grin on his face.

Jasper forced a grin of his own. "Finally, a decent sound system in that piece of—"

"No hating on the truck," I warned, half teasingly. "But thank you, guys."

Edward gave me a CD with a selective few songs he'd recorded for me. I was surprised when Mason was next to give me his gift; although he and Mila had been dating for quite a while now, I hadn't really gotten to know him. And Mila rarely spoke about him when it was just us two girls hanging out. When I opened the present he gave me, I instantly rolled my eyes; as helpful as it might be, I knew he'd gotten me this as a joke.

It was a first-aid kit.

"Gee, thanks," I said, though it came out more grateful than sarcastic.

Mila then took his place beside me and gave me a small black box.

"Mila!" I exclaimed myself when I found that she had gotten me a very expensive new phone.

How did I know it was expensive? Well, it had a tactile screen!

I glared at her; she, more than anyone, knew how much I hated it when people spent money on me. It was one of the many things she and I had in common.

"Oh, come on, Bells! No one has flip-phones anymore."

"Wha— Charlie does."

"Well... Charlie's like fifty years old or something."

"He's forty!"

"There is a very short line between forty and fifty."

"Mila—"

"Just take the damn phone!"

"... fine." I can never win an argument against her, can I?

"Open mine," Alice then said, jumping forward and handing me another box.

I pulled on the ribbon keeping the box shut, then gasped quietly, quickly pulling my hand away after having felt the thin fabric slice through my skin. So... yeah, that's when things got bad.

The moment the drop of blood slid from my finger and onto the white carpet beneath our feet, and I suddenly felt myself being gently pushed to the side, only to find, merely a couple second later, Mila flying back into the wall a couple feet behind us, her head visibly hitting the glass table lined up against it as she dropped to the ground.

"Mila!" I cried out in horror.

I wanted to run to her aid, but the blood pooling out from beneath her had me frozen where I stood. I watched with worried eyes as she slowly pushed herself upright and glance around with half-lidded eyes.

"At least this proves that I'm not a serial killer..." she mumbled drowsily before her eyes drooped closed. She was about to fall back down against the glass and broken china beneath her, but was quickly caught by Carlisle, who had flashed over to her side.

Suddenly, I found myself standing at Mila's other side, right behind Edward for some reason. I finally dared myself to look away from my godsister, and for what felt like the first time, I felt fear. I feared the Cullens and the ravenous looks spread across their faces. I suddenly feared and even hated Di Angelis for not having better control over himself in this situation. But I also feared and hated myself for suddenly putting Mila— my best friend.... my _sister_ in this dangerous situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
**Mila's P.O.V.**

"This is all my fault," I heard a faint voice say miserably.

I couldn't distinguish whose voice it was for my mind was still too clouded with grogginess and the usual whispers and hisses swarming about, but I could still comprehend what was being said.

I mentally snorted as I recounted what this person said; I could only guess who was saying it. And with a pretty good guess, I couldn't help but think that, _Yeah, it was_. As much as I hated to admit it, this was Bella's fault. But it was my fault as well, for letting my guard down.

"Mila?"

Huh, I guess I thought out loud.

I tried to force my eyes open, but no matter how much effort I put into it, I could only feel myself falling back into the darkness that had previously surrounded me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_My eyes fluttered open when I heard a light knock on my door._

_"Mila?"_

_I recognized the voice, but, like any other day spent here, I was simply not in the mood._

_"Do you wanna build a snowman?" the voice giggled._

_I rolled my eyes. "It's not even winter," I deadpanned._

_"Then we'll build a Sandman!" The person giggled as they opened a door and a little brunette poked her head in. "Come on, Miles! Come play with me."_

_The little girl stepped fully inside and closed the door behind her, dancing in circles while singing an odd version of Frosty the Snowman. "Sandy the Sandman was a jolly happy soul! With a stick for a pipe and pebble nose, and two eyes made of... random stuff found on the road!"_

_I rolled my eyes and shook my head, burying my face between my arms that were wrapped around my knees. "Go away; I'm plotting."_

_The little girl stopped dancing and skipped her way over to my bedside. "Are you planning for a way out for you and me?" she whispered._

_My silver orbs snapped back her way, my eyes softening upon gazing into her amber-colored orbs. "Yes. I'll figure something out soon. Then, before you know it, we'll be free."_

_She smiled brightly at me, throwing her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. "I can't wait, Miley!"_

_I smiled slightly, reciprocating the embrace. "Neither can I..."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I forced my eyes open and looked around me, feeling my breath getting caught in my throat as I felt the immense pain in my head, running down my arm. I groaned as I lazily pushed myself upright, struggling to just sit on my bed.

"What are you doing here?" I complained, the whine perfectly clear in my groggy voice.

A soft chuckle rumbled from the corner of my room by the now open window.

_He's here to kill you! He'll scalp you— skin you alive! He'll drain you— drain your soul. He'll—_

"You make it so hard for me to believe you."

"Believe what?" I asked, trying to shake away the hissing voices snarling jovially in my head.

"That you're not trying to avoid me," he replied simply. "That you do want me here, 'cause it's pretty clear that you really don't."

My jaw clenched, my eyes falling shut as I exhaled through my nose. What do I say? I can't let it show that I'm on to him. Who knows what'll happen if he realized I was... or worse; if _they_ found out I was on to them. I opened my eyes and looked over at him, gasping softly under my breath when I found him sitting right in front of me, his emerald eyes practically staring into my soul.

_He'll drain you— drain your soul. He'll—_

I shook my head to myself, dropping my gaze to twiddling thumbs.

"What's on your mind, Miles?" he spoke softly.

I slightly clenched my jaw a little tighter, irked by how innocent he tried to act. Curling my hands into fists, I forced my gaze back up and looked him in the eyes once more.

"Look..." I began quietly. _C'mon, Miles, think a lie. Think a lie!_ "... this... is my first relationship in like... _ever_." Wow, just hearing that fact makes me look so pathetic... "I never knew how these things worked, and despite having been at this for months, it's no secret my knowledge on this has not changed; I still don't know shit of what I'm doing, or where we're heading with this, and I can't help but think most of the time that I may have given into this sort of thing far too quickly.

Like seriously, I avoided you for weeks, and then when we finally hung out _once_ , you revealed some feelings you couldn't have possibly gained while I was avoiding you. And then the second time we hung out, _bam!_ " I slapped my hands together rather loudly as I said this, making him slightly jump in surprise. "We kiss and are apparently a couple the next school day. I know I may still be a little behind in regards to how things work in the teenage world, but I'm pretty sure relationships don't start this way."

You know, thinking back, I never gave this a thought. I mean, yeah, I always thought I had gone over this about a thousand times in my head, but never to this extent; now I can see that the problem isn't really just the fact that he's an undercover jackass.

Mason leaned forward slightly, leveling his gaze with mine. "What are you saying?" he asked, his brows furrowing as he seemingly tried to get a read out of me.

I huffed; that ain't happenin', bucko. "I need space!" I exclaimed myself. "No more sex! No more midnight rendezvous! No more... sleepovers behind Charlie's back— like, seriously, how many times have I told you how creepy it is that you watch me while I sleep?"

He pouted playfully. "But that's the best part of our relationship!"

I gave him a flat look. "No, it's the creepiest of all creepy parts of our relationship. Now. Get. Out."

Mason chuckled softly, shaking his head at me. I pursed my lips, moving my gaze to my un-nailed window; he might think I'm being silly, but, really, I was being dead serious. Now, I just had to find the right moment to confront him about his true intentions before I end things...

"Fine, I'll see you tomorrow." I looked at him and nodded, though moved away again when he leaned forward to kiss me. "Miles..."

"Goodnight, Mason," I replied simply, pushing my covers away and walking to the door of my room.

I think it's about time I check on Bella and Charlie... and get something to eat; I'm starving.

I heard a quiet shuffling behind me, and when I turned to look toward my bed, Mason was gone, the window shut behind him; I then released a breath I had not noticed I was holding in, my hand tightening around the doorknob.

I had to give the man some credit; had it not been for my vision, I might've never guessed what he was up to, or who he was doing this for. On the other hand, maybe I would've, though not as quickly; he was clever when it came to hiding things.

Though not so clever when he tried to wave off someone who was on to him... someone who knew him pretty well at this point.


	4. Just like them...

"Hey, Bells, you know how I told you a few months ago… and repeatedly onward… that _no one_ can hate you?" _Crunch_. "Well, I take that back; _I_ am seriously starting to hate you."

Bella's head dropped in shame as stared down at her bowl of ramen noodle soup. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "God, I am such a party pooper."

"No, Bella, you're just _clumsy_ as fuck," I grumbled, taking another ferocious bite out of my red apple. "Who— _how_ in Tartarus does one get their finger cut with a ribbon? A _ribbon_?!"

Bella slid further down her chair, hiding her face behind the curtains of chocolate brown hair. "Mila..."

With a roll of my eyes, I threw out the rest of the apple I found myself unable to finish and made my way toward the exit.

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere far, _far_ away from you and those stinkin' sparkly vamps— somewhere where danger doesn't lurk around every corner," I grumbled, heading toward the entrance of the house. I winced slightly as I pulled a denim jacket on before leaning down to pull on some boots; it had rained this morning, and I didn't feel like coming back home with soaked feet.

Straightening up with much effort, I grabbed my wallet and keys and made my way out the door.

"Whoa, hey, whoa!" Charlie stopped me upon bumping into him just outside the door. "Where do you think you're going? You're supposed to be resting."

"I'm done resting. I'm bored, Bella's boring, and I just realized I literally have no hobby whatsoever," I enumerated randomly.

"Miles..."

"I'm gonna go get myself a job or something."

I rushed over to my car and quickly jumped in, slamming the door shut. I had dropped my keys at my feet in doing so, so I leaned down and scavenged my hand around for it, when, suddenly, a voice nearly startled me to death.

"It's not her fault, you know."

"HOLY MOTHER OF ZEUS!!!" _Bang!_ I'd always underestimated steering-wheels; now I know they hurt like bitches. "What in Tartarus are you doing here?!"

"You know something? I noticed that whenever you refer to a religious figure or curse, you usually refer to an otherworldly entity from Greek mythology. Why is that?"

I stared at him for a moment, feeling my nose twitch slightly as I fought back the grimace that was threatening to form from his mere presence. I caught myself for a moment, though, as I thought back to what he said. _Greek… mythology?_ Frankly, I did not know the answer to his question; I had never truly noticed I was referring to… what was it that he said— otherworldly entities from Greek mythology…

I guess… it's always just come naturally to me. Like, sometimes, you can just swear under your breath after getting hurt or making a mistake. "Shit!" "Fuck!" "Damn!" And yet, you might've never actually heard anyone say it at all… or read it.

"I don't know," I muttered admittedly. "Though it's not something I would really care to invest any energy in to find out why. On another note," I turned to glare at him. "I did not leave the house to be _graced_ by your presence, so get. Out."

"Mila—"

"Rayne," I finished for him. As much as did not like how long my name was, I was in no mood of being called by my nickname by someone I greatly dislike.

"Why don't you like me?"

"You're a bloodsucking vampire that sparkles in the sun— a combination of the things on my top 10 list of things I hate," I deadpanned. "Also, you're creepy as fuck."

Edward sighed, running a pale hand through his bronze hair. "Milarayne, it's not her fault."

"No, it _is_ ," I objected. "But it's also your fault— we all know, _especially_ you, that Jasper hasn't been away from human blood as long as the rest o' you bloodsuckers. And yet, you _let_ this happen."

I turned in my seat, so I was fully facing him; I could _feel_ my pupils dilating slightly as anger consumed me to the core; I wanted to kill this thing. I wanted to kill each and every one of them. I may have started feeling a little bit of hate toward my god sister, but she's still human; anything that tries to destroy such beings will suffer by _my_ hand.

"I swear to you, Edward Cullen, and to all the Gods in existence, that I will _destroy_ you if you _ever_ hurt Bella in _any_ way. You may currently hate what you are, but I will make you regret the day you were _born_. You have my word in that matter."

I spoke in a deep voice, but my words were slow and clear, so there was no way there could be a misunderstanding. Simple as fuck; if he hurt Bella, I would torture him in every possible way, then, finally, kill him.

"Now get. Out. Of. My. Car."

In a blink of an eye, he was gone, and I found myself swerving into the highway that would lead me to Port Angeles. It was busy there, and though I generally hated busy places, it was the perfect place to get my mind off everything. Before long, I was parked Port Baku Mall's parking lot and making my way into a very retro looking store.

I had been so lost in thought that I had not noticed where I had walked into exactly. Glancing around, I noticed a neon-lit sign spelling, 'Melody Record Shop ~ Opened since 1977' right by the entrance.

_Record Shop, huh?_

Curious, I wandered around, looking at the large display of old CDs from a few years back. I fell upon one with the face of a woman. She looked familiar— I'd probably seen her in a magazine or something. I studied it a bit more and noticed said artist's name on the top and the name of the song album at the bottom.

Britney Spears ~ In The Zone (Karaoke)

Ah, that's why she looked familiar. But what in Hades is 'karaoke'? Curious, I pushed one of the play-in-store CDs into the CD player nearby and let it play as I browsed through the list enumerated at the back of the disk's case. I recognize but one song in the entire list, but… then again, I could be wrong. From what I'd gathered since my time out of the institute is that many songs are named similarly, if not the same, so it's often hard to differentiate them until you actually hear them. Tinkering with the machine, I pressed the forwarding button till the song I wondered was the one I recognized began to play.

Ten seconds within the song, I was nodding along, somewhat content with hearing something slightly familiar. I remembered a bit of this song; one of the nurses back at the institute used to play it a lot on her small radio. She thought she was subtle, but she really wasn't. Utterly bored with myself, I began to sing along the bit I knew.

" _O-oh, can't you see… I'm callin'… a guy like you should wear a warning… it's dangerous; I've fallen._ " I realized there was no voice singing in the track whatsoever; huh, I guess that's what they call karaoke.

" _There's no escape. I can't wait; I need a hit— o-oh, give me it. You're dangerous, and yet I love it._ "

I walked further into the shop, still humming along with the music fading as the distance between the radio and myself increase, the further I went. Suddenly, I found myself speechless as I reached an area filled with instruments. There were new instruments, built from brands I had never heard of, just as many as there were vintage ones. One, in particular, caught my eye, and, before I'd even realized it, I had instantly made my way over it. I reached forward but did not touch it, letting my hand hover over the beauty.

"Do you play?"

I gasped softly, surprised by the sudden presence at my side. I cleared my throat to keep myself from blurting out something stupid before I nodded, uttering a soft 'a little' under my breath.

"But I haven't played in a while," I said admittedly, though maybe 'a while' may be a bit of an understatement. I hadn't played since…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_"… Miley? What is that?"_

_That was Al; she'd been here almost as long as I had, maybe a little less. She'd attached herself to me from the moment we met, and I just couldn't seem to shake her off. I didn't mind as much as I used to anymore— she'd kinda grown on me._

_I chuckled. "It's a guitar. Haven't you ever seen one?" I asked as I tried to find a more comfortable way to settle with my guitar that was beginning to be too small for my now twelve-year-old body._

_"… uh… not that I can remember… what's it do?"_

_"… erm… it creates melodic sounds that create music— one played in a certain order. Some people learn the sole instrument to play alone, while others learn to accompany other… instruments and even voices. Together, they can create beautiful songs."_

_"Ooh…" was the only reply I got, soft and filled with awe._

_"I'm not very good at playing— I'm still learning."_

_"Who's teaching you?"_

_"Freddie."_

_"Freddie? Your papa?"_

_"Stepfather," I corrected her. "And yes. He is a very talented… musician."_

_"Ooh, can you play something?"_

_"… I don't really know much, to be honest. I don't know many songs…" I mumbled, a little embarrassed._

_"Play whatever you know," came the plea. "Anything, please?"_

_"Erm… okay," I replied._

_My tone was edgy and awkward, but I complied all the same. Softly, I let my fingers dance along the strings of the custom-built instrument, gradually taking on a slow, soothing rhythm. I played a few rounds as a particular song from my toddler years suddenly came back to me and I fell into a new, slow rhythm that followed the melody playing in my head. With one final strum of my guitar, I finally began to sing. My voice was soft and hesitant, yet rough and slightly raspy from being so untrained._

_" **When I'm down and feeling scared… I know I should take a chance; the world is sitting right here… in the palm of my hand.** "_

_I looked up and found her looking at me, eyes wide with what seemed to be awe, as tears began to well up in them as well._

_" **I'm flying higher than before, and giving up is not a choice…** " I hesitated a bit, unsure if I should continue if she was going to cry. " **I'll push the doubt aside… and step into the spotlight…** "_

_After a moment, I realized I had trailed off and simply continued to play the chords I was playing on the guitar as I forgot the words of this familiar song. Where had I heard it before?_

_I continued to sing the other part I remembered, but I did not sing any more words, for I had forgotten them._

_" **La, la, la, la, la-a-a,** " I sang it three times around before I finally stopped, staring into her tearful eyes._

_"I… remember that," she said softly._

_"What?" I was shocked by this; she couldn't possibly know this tune… could she?_

_"My… my momma used to sing me to sleep. That was her favorite song…"_

_I was curious now. "Did your… momma put you here?"_

_The eight-year-old seated before me smiled sadly and shifted her gaze downward. "No, I was taken. I'm sure my first momma wouldn't have really cared; after all, she left me when I was just a baby… but my second momma… she was as kind as can be. She was young, like Nurse Joy, but she was much more kind, and so loving." She sighed dreamily. "And she and papa were so… magical…"_

_I frowned slightly at her choice of word, tilting my head to the side as I thought. Magical?_

_Then, she smiled at me. "And momma had unique eyes. Like yours!" I pushed myself a bit further away from her in surprise, shifting my gaze to the ground, my frown only deepening. "They were kind of purple. Not exactly purple, but a color close to it. And they glowed a lot."_

_This caught my attention._

_"Aunt Rocky's did the same. They'd tell me I was magic too, because mine glowed sometimes too."_

_My head shot back up at those words and, as I bore my gaze into hers, I noticed that she was absolutely right— her amber-colored eyes were glowing a yellowish hue as they stared back at me._

_My Gods… this couldn't be a coincidence… could it?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Would you play something?"

I looked up and found myself staring at girl who looked awfully familiar and frowned; she couldn't possibly look familiar— I'd never even met her before.

She stood before me at about five feet five— quite the contrast against my now five 'n ten height— staring down at me with large, hazelnut eyes and a secretive smile I instantly found filling me with annoyance and irritation. Gods— who smiles so much?

Eying her a moment longer, eyes narrowed as I all but scrutinized her, I shook my head and stuffed my hands into the pockets of my denim jacket.

"I'm quite rusty— haven't played in years; if anything, your ears will hurt at whatever I manage to concoct with that thing," I admitted, surprisingly not at all embarrassed by the truth nor my rather hostile bluntness.

She seemed to deflate at my answer, her smile dimming some, though just as I thought— hoped— it would actually disappear, it came back as soon as it had started dimming, and only brightened.

I had never wanted to shoot something more.

Trying to shake away my discomfort, I dared myself to ask; "Hey, do you know if there's anywhere around that's looking to hire?"

She blinked owlishly, clearly taken aback by my question. "Erm… well, yeah… actually." She cleared her throat, and her smile came back anew. "They're actually looking for a few waiters or waitresses in the conjoined café. I can call my grandmother down if you'd like; she owns the whole thing."

I raised my brows, surprised by the news. As I finally latched on to her last sentence however, I quickly shook my head; didn't need to embarrass myself once again, this week.

"Thanks, but… erm.. I should maybe come back… when I actually have a resume," I replied awkwardly, feeling even more uneasy when my reply elicited a giggle from the girl in front of me. "Anyway," I urged. "Thanks again. I'll come by… some time soon. Bye!"

I don't know what it was about this place or the person inside that made me feel somewhat uneasy, but I just couldn't help but rush out of there as soon as I could. Before long I stood once more before the gates of Forks Cemetery.

With a heavy sigh, I slid my shoulder-bag over my head to hang across my shoulder before shoving my hands into the pockets of my denim jacket as I made my way past the gates into the tombstone-covered land. I climbed up the small hill leading to the 'A's, but soon stopped short when I noticed someone I had never seen before standing before my stepfather's grave.

It was a woman. I couldn't see her face, but from her visibly long figure, I could guess she was rather tall. Her hair fell in beautiful reddish-honey colored waves past her shoulders, down to her mid-back, giving a sort of warmer saturation to her pale skin that could easily be said to be as white as now… with a hint of a tan. Amongst her very healthy looking hair— emphasis on the healthy; I have never seen such shiny and beautiful hair… Barbie Cullen's doesn't count, she's dead… technically— a thick, white traitorous lock was tucked behind her ear, creating quite a stark contrast between it and the rest of her hair that covered most of her face.

She wore a pair of black pants tucked into equally dark combat boots and a bright orange shirt only slightly visible from underneath her dark jacket that hugged perfectly the curves of her upper body. She had a hand tucked into her pocket as she bent down to place a bouquet of blood red roses on Fred's grave, a few locks of her hair falling forward as she leaned down, hiding her face even more.

Subconsciously, I stepped behind the sole large tree in this part of the cemetery, hiding slightly as I continued to observe the stranger visiting my stepfather.

"Hey, Freddie," she spoked softly, her voice slightly rough and yet seemingly melodic. "Long time no see, huh? I'm really sorry about that, by the way."

After placing the bouquet before the gravestone, she squatted down and crossing her arms over her knees and resting her chin on her arms.

"Remember that masked singer I used to admire so much?" she spoke again, her voice a little louder. " **AJ X** , she'd call herself before she revealed herself to be that— then— newly famous, young, female soldier… _Ayden_. What a shock it was to everyone," She chuckled. "I remember when you took me to see her last performance… right when she finally revealed who she was. She sang this song she wrote that I instantly fell in love with. I just had to have it— so I could listen to it as much as I could."

For a moment, it was silent, and I continued to watch— like the creep I'd probably seem to anyone who'd catch me spying on this woman— as she buried her face in the space between her arms, not saying anything more.

"Who would've thought her lyrics would actually be somewhat accurate to what we've been through?"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the woman began to sing. Her voice was by no standards trained or refined like a singer's, but it was beautiful in its own right, soft and even angelic. And man, could she carry a tune.

" _Remember when… just yesterday we were just children? Playing soldiers, just pretending? Dreaming dreams with happy endings…_ " She lifted her head and shifted in her position, so she was on her knees. " _In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords, but then we were thrown into this cruel world, where everybody stands and keeps score…_ "

She stopped for a moment, leaning down. I couldn't tell what she was doing from where I stood, but then, she was suddenly kneeling again, her hair whipped backward upon abruptly raising her head, revealing quite a beauty… despite the fact that only the side of her face was visible; you could still see a sudden determination etching onto her features.

 _Suddenly_ , I jumped slightly from where I— very obviously— hid as music seemingly, _magically_ began to play. I glanced around, trying to find the source that was seemingly trying to make a musical out of this sad moment.

" _My feet are ready, heart a little unsteady-y-y, but my ey-ey-yes are open_."

I looked back at the singing woman and saw she was back on her feet.

" _My aim is locked; the-e-e night goes dark! Whoever came…_ " The seemingly disembodied music then began to swell as the notes she sang began to build up into what would seem to be a powerful verse that would follow. " _Will have to keep their eyes ope-en!_ "

Her voice seemed to suddenly fill itself with so much pain and sorrow as she closed her eyes, clutching her chest.

" _Everybody's waiting for a breakdown! Everybody's watching to see the fallout. But I won't sleep— I will keep… I will keep my eyes open! I'll be ready… I am ready! Whoever came better keep— they better keep their eyes open…_ "

As soon as her singing came to an end, the _very_ random music came to a stop as well, fading into the wind. She didn't even seem to notice it, she was too deep in her grief, I could only assume. Suddenly, I perked up slightly upon hearing her next words.

" _Gods_ , it feels like I'd just gotten you back… I'm sorry I wasn't here for you, Freddie. I could've stopped this." Her tone was sad and utterly defeated, disappointed with herself. And yet, there was a firm hint of determination as she continued. "I promise you— I will catch those bastards who took you from me. _They_ will regret the day they messed with the Aldens. With _all_ of us."

I was about to run toward her, feeling the sudden need to stop her from leaving. Who was 'they'? And the Aldens? Was she somehow related to us? Fred never mentioned any family outside of our own— then again, I never really asked. _Then again_ , for the most part of my life, I was thinking of ways I could get the fuck out of the shithole of an asylum if I couldn't be legally bailed.

You know something? Thinking back— I actually can't remember how I even got out…

In the end, I pulled a fuckin' Bella— I slipped on some wet leaves resting nastily on the ground and barely caught myself, the skin on the palm of my hand scratching off as it came in contact with the cement floor.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow," the woman suddenly said with a slightly sarcastic edge to her tone. "Please relay the incoming message you have for me."

I glanced up and felt my eyes widen when,  _suddenly_ — gods, that's a lot of suddenties...— a large cloud of mist appeared out of nowhere in front of the unknown woman, in what looked like a rainbow loosely surrounding the cloud as the face of a man appeared amongst it. Pardon my girly,  _swooning_  thoughts, but he is a very handsome man. He had a mop of disheveled, jet black hair, swept to one side with a white lock falling just above his eye. He was panting, eyes wide with panic as he momentarily glanced behind him— at whatever the hell was behind him; faint, disembodied giggles and screams were heard in a distance.

" _Rocky, when are you coming back?!_ "

The woman— Rocky— chuckled softly. "What is it this time?"

" _They're using their powers! I didn't even know they had powers!_ " I jumped in surprise as a loud crash suddenly rang through the field. " _Skylar— get down from there! Rock— 'd you know Skylar can fly?! She's— Sky, get down! N-no, Jason, don't you d— Jason!_ " The man looked frantically back at Rocky. " _Please tell me Jason can fly._ "

Rocky's chuckles turned into lighthearted laughter. "Percy, they've only come into their powers. And it's not unexpected, considering our parentage. And how are you so panicked? We've raised most of many at camp."

" _Yeah, but they actually listen because they think us heroes. Sky and Jase don't give a cra— poop that we fought against titans…_ "

" _Crap!_ " the voice of a little boy shouted.

Rocky crossed her arms over her chest; I couldn't see the look on her face as her back was turned to me, but you could just feel how unimpressed she was with the man— it was practically oozing out of her.

"Percy," she said what I assumed was the man's name, a warning edge in her tone.

An overly sheepish look crossed his features as he chuckled awkwardly. " _Gotta go, love you!_ "

"Percy! Don't _you_ dare—" she shrieked, but the man was gone. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "What am I gonna do with the lot of you…"

She spun on her heels and walked down the small hill on which my stepfather had been buried. My eyes widened as she all but strode toward the tree I was hiding behind and stopped right in front of me, staring me down with deep, striking blue-gray eyes. Only then did I realize I was still pathetically laying on the ground. No wonder my butt felt cold, numb and wet, and my feet felt like they'd fallen asleep— how long had I been there?

The— very gorgeous— woman shifted her body, jutting her hip to the side as she crossed her arms over her chest again and raised a brow at me, _clearly_ unimpressed. Truthfully, even I was very unimpressed with myself.

"I totally did not just see you talking to a man in a very rainbow…y mist," I blurted out, instantly face-palming myself as soon as I had ended the sentence. I then grimaced as the result of the face-palm all but slapped a wet and very muddy leaf onto my forehead.

I sighed, shutting my eyes as I pushed myself into a seated position, leaning my back against the tree trunk.

"You don't have to say it, I know; I'm pathetic," I muttered.

Rocky chuckled and I opened my eyes, silently gasping in surprise upon finding her closer to me, squatting down so we were near the same eye level as she brought out of her pocket what looked like a handkerchief. She reached forward, completely ignoring my slight flinch, and gently grasped my chin between her thumb and index before pulling the leaf off my forehead and ever so gently cleaning the mud off my face with the very soft handkerchief; I felt bad that she was ruining it on my face.

"You're not," she replied before shifting the subject slightly. "That man I was talking to is my husband. Percy."

Her tone was soft and gentle— motherly, and it brought shivers of delight all throughout my body; it was a stark contrast to the shudders that would run down my spine upon being on the receiving end of the hard and distant tone Claire used on me for as long as I can remember…

She smiled at me, the gesture genuine and kind, much like her tone. "And that 'rainbow-y mist' is an Iris Message."

I felt my brows furrow slightly at the foreign yet somewhat familiar terms. "Iris? As in the Greek—"

"Goddess of the Rainbow? Yes. I'd say I'm related to her, but… gods and goddesses don't actually have DNA…"

"Gods… what?" My breathing hitched slightly at this new information. "What are you— who— you're an Alden?!" I found myself shrieking in the end instead of actually elaborating on the questions I'd previously wanted to ask.

She chuckled softly, finally pulling away. "A Jackson, actually. But yes," she confirmed, grabbing my hand and beginning to clean off the mud on it as well. "I was Alden."

"Was?"

"I'm married, if you hadn't already guessed by the name change and the 'husband' I mentioned earlier."

"… right," I replied dumbly.

She exhaled softly through her nose before looking at me, scrutinizing me. There was no judgement in her eyes, I noticed. Just a tinge of curiosity and… sadness, was it?

"You don't know who I am, do you?" she asked softly. I mutely shook my head and her eyes softened. "I guess there's a lot you don't know considering…"

 _Considering what?!_ I watched, slightly puzzled, as her eyes shifted downward. I followed her gaze and noticed what she was looking at, and let me tell you— _what_ she was looking at shocked me even more.

The stone that was hanging around my neck, which had once been silver was now a strange shade of blue with purple and silver colored streaks adorning it like visible veins in someone's arm. I didn't like this change— it frightened me.

I looked up as I heard her breathing hitch. Reaching out her other hand, she offered it to me and, without hesitation I took it and was helped onto my feet.

"I have to go," she told me.

I wanted to protest. I didn't know why— sure, she had been an Alden, but she was a total stranger to me.

"I need to get back to my husband before our kids drive him crazy."

I don't know why she felt the need to explain herself; she didn't know me, there was no need for any elaboration. And yet I felt somewhat grateful. Usually, I would just be left hanging.

I mutely watched her as she reached into her pocket once more. There was the faint sound of a jingle before she pulled out a small pouch— like one you would store coins in. She opened it and pulled out a strange-looking, golden coin. It was huge.

"This," she told me. "is a Golden Drachma."

I owlishly blinked, merely watching as she dropped it back into the pouch, snapped it shut and held it out for me to grab. I grabbed it, blinking again, unsure how else to respond.

"This is the _safest_ way to contact me," she said. "Just remember, Iris will _only_ be where there's a rainbow."

I nodded, though I didn't understand shit of what she was going on about.

She smiled. "I have to go," she repeated. "I will try to come back as soon as I can, but if there is _anything_ you need, let me know. _I'll be there_."

I blinked; this was the first time I'd ever heard that. I suddenly felt warmth spread within me. It was blazing, but it was the good kind of hot… if that makes any sense. At this moment, not even the hissing voices in my head could keep me from feeling this sudden happiness I had not felt in a long time.

"I _will_ see again, Milarayne," she said. "Take care of yourself."

It was only when she was gone that I realized something…

I never told her my name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_I can't take it anymore!_

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

I blinked. Oh, I spoke out loud.

"Mila?"

I looked at Mason and felt my insides twist. It was paranoia. It had to be. Those visions— they weren't real. They couldn't possibly… Gods, please tell me I'm just having false visions out of paranoia. Mason can't possibly have betrayed me… I refuse to believe it.

"Mila, talk to me," he implored. He seemed to be pleading a lot lately… then again, I haven't exactly made anything easy for him as of late… "What's wrong?"

"Are you working for the Nickolauses?" I outright blurted out.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Mila, you fuckin' idiot! UGH!!! I hate myself…

"… what?"

Yeah, just go and act like you don't know, that I know, that you know, that we both know the truth.

"Why are you playing dumb, Mason? Quit acting clueless— I'm the one who's supposed to do that!"

"Mila—"

"What, are you gonna confess?"

"How… how did you know," he asked, not bothering to deny anymore. The torn look on his face dove a knife in my heart. "When did you…?"

"Romeo and Juliette," I replied as I turned the faucet lever, shutting the water.

I couldn't even try to sound sarcastic for the life of me.

Nearly a week ago was Bella's birthday party. After I'd woken up and confessed to Mason my troublesome feelings, I avoided him like a plague. He wasn't the only one I avoided. At this point, I almost didn't care Bella was a sheep in a lions' den; I just couldn't be around any of them. Things weren't any better at the Joy Club— Shower girl and her friends wouldn't quit pestering me, trying to get me to join their stupid club.

I don't sing!

As if that wasn't enough, that kid— yes 'kid', he was nearly two years younger than me— I'd sang with on the roof of Port Baku Mall in Port Angeles joined that stupid club and was pulling some Cinderella's Prince Charming bullshit, trying to find who sang with him.

I ain't about to tell him it was me— I have enough problems on my plate as it is.

Then, to add a cherry to the cake— I was being overwhelmed with jumbling feelings that were almost as unbearable as the voices cackling in my head. It'd been three days since I'd met that mysterious Rocky at the Forks cemetery and now, _all_ I wanted, in this moment of truth, was to hear her soft, soothing voice singing again. I wanted Fred at my side, hugging me to sleep like he would do sometimes when he'd visit me at the institute. I wanted to be curled up by the foot of a couch with Andrew and Lilly at my side.

Why the fuck was all this happening to me?

I turned my back to Mason and went to dry my hands after putting away the last dish.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know," I retorted, dropping my hands to my side. "Maybe I didn't want to believe that my boyfriend, who claims to love me _so_ much, was conspiring against me. Maybe I didn't want to believe that I had yet again been _so_ stupid as to think that someone could _actually_ love when really it was all just deception."

"But I do love you," he said softly.

"Was that before or after we _actually_ met? Or did you save me from a car crash and started crushing on me or something?"

I huffed angrily, throwing the kitchen cloth beside the sink before stalking past him out of the kitchen and to the door, grabbing my denim jacket along the way— can't go anywhere without that thing.

"Did you watch me endlessly for months, trying to get to know me?!" My sarcasm boosted the volume of my voice as I exited the house, walking around it to the woods. I just want to get lost in there and never be found.

I just want to be left alone!

"Yes."

I spun on my feet, my heels digging into the grass-covered ground beneath me. "What?!"

Mason cleared his throat awkwardly— that's a first. "Well… erm… yes to the 'watching you'… no to the… saving you from a car crash?" The last part ended as a question, filled with confusion and uncertainty.

"What?!" I exclaimed myself, not expecting this answer. "I was being sarcastic!"

"What do you want me to say?!"

"The truth!" I yelled at him. "What else would I want you to say, Mason?" I couldn't stop it. Not this time.

I cried.

"I have been lied to my whole life. I have been hurt, neglected and tortured." I let out a wet, humorless laugh. "But you knew that. And still, you went along with it."

"Mila… I didn't have a choice…"

"You didn't have a choice," I repeated placidly. " _You didn't have a choice—_ _I_ didn't have a choice, Mason! I was thrown into a fuckin' asylum when I was nine without a chance to plead my innocence. Without a chance to prove I was _not crazy_! You didn't have a choice— bull! That's just bullshit!"

He took a step toward me, but I only stepped further away from him.

"You told me you loved me," I spoke more calmly, my voice now quivering. "From the moment we meant. Was that not enough? Was I not enough to change your mind? Was I not worth a goddamn truth?!"

I felt wistful eyes watching over me from a distance. I was safe, and if I were to do anything rash, I'd be stopped. That was good to know, but not relieving by one bit.

Mason took another step toward me. I recoiled, then froze right where I stood as my sight clouded before me and I was suddenly deeper within the woods.

When I came to, I was sprinting past tree after tree, my own pains and sorrows buried at the far back of my mind as I all but ditched Mason as I searched the woods for Bella.

Stupid, caring heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Bella's P.O.V.**

"Not you. Us."

I stood there, stunned out of my mind. He couldn't possibly be— no! This can't be happening— this _cannot_ be happening to _me_.

"No— Edward, what happened with Jasper— that was nothing," I said, silently imploring him to change his mind.

"Nothing compared to what could happen," he replied firmly, dead set on being right. "You don't belong in my world."

"I belong with _you_." Why can't you see that?

"You don't—"

"I'm coming," I cut him off forcefully; I was not letting him leave me.

"I don't _want_ you to come!"

Hearing those words stung me to the core; I almost couldn't breathe. I took a step back, away from Edward, trying to understand what the hell was happening. I'd never experienced anything like this in my entire life. It was excruciatingly painful— why did it hurt so much?

"You don't… want me—"

"No," he replied instantly.

He hadn't even let me finish, but this only stung even more. It wasn't anymore that he didn't want me to come, it was that he didn't want _me_. How could this be? He told me he loves me. If he loves… why is he leaving? If anything, shouldn't that be reason enough to stay?

"I'd like to ask one favor though."

Why in Tartarus would he ask me for a favor while dumping me? Who in Tartarus even does that?! Gods— now I'm even sounding like Mila! _Gods_?! What the hell?! I am thinking out of context!

"Anything," I blurted out, instantly hating myself.

"Don't do anything stupid or reckless, you understand?" He wasn't asking, he was demanding. "For Charlie's sake."

I didn't even know what to reply; the hurt was deepening… "… Okay," I ended up saying.

I watched as his stern face softened ever so slightly.

"Goodbye, Bella," he said quietly before he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Did I sound pathetic? I had no doubt I did— Mila would probably slap me if she ever found out about this and think so too. I didn't care though; I just couldn't let this happen.

"Take care of yourself," he said softly.

"I... yes... I will," I felt myself reply.

His voice was compelling on its own— it was hard to refuse him anything. I almost wish I had as much will-power as Mila did… at least enough to resist him and think properly when I'm around him like she was capable of doing around Mason. But I can't even open a present without cutting finger with a ribbon…

"Don't worry," he said. "You're human."

I suddenly felt meaningless upon being called out for what I was. Yes, I was human. I was a pathetic, weak human— I was a fuckin' disgrace to humankind.

"Time heals all wounds for your kind."

_Not always…_

"Particularly if you're not reminded."

I felt desperation resurge within me, overwhelming the dignity I know I never actually possessed but could've developed if I'd just _let him go_. But I can't, so dignity can go screw itself.

"No," I refused. "This is— don't do this. Please."

Maybe if I pleaded hard enough, he would see that I would never let him go and he would give up and give him— he would stay with me. I took another step back, startled upon seeing his face suddenly turn as cold as I knew his skin to be.

"Try to understand." His was not its usual self; it was cold and hard, matching his complexion to its finest. "Every second with you is about restraint. You're too fragile. I'm tired of pretending to be something I'm not. Reining myself in so I can be with a human."

"Then take my soul. I don't care!" God— now I'm worse than that chick from Dracula… "I don't want it without you—"

"You're not good for me, Bella," he retorted sharply.

I merely stared back at him. His hard face. His resolve.

"I've let it go on too long. I'm sorry."

Tears stung my eyes. This can't be happening.

"Edward," I chocked out his name. "Please…"

I reached out for him, willing my deadened legs to carry me forward. For a second, I thought he was reaching for me, too. But his cold hands locked around my wrists and pinned them to my sides. He leaned down and pressed his lips very lightly to my forehead for the briefest instant. My eyes closed.

"I promise," he breathed, cool against my skin. "It will be like I never existed. Goodbye, Bella."

There was a light, unnatural breeze. My eyes flashed open. The leaves on a small vine maple shuddered with the gentle wind of his passage, one lone leaf flittering to the ground where he grazed a branch; the only indication of his direction. I scrambled slightly as I hurried down the path, then started to run.

"Edward?!"

_He's gone._

I kept running and running— by this point, I wouldn't be surprise by how deep into the woods I had gone. I was tired, just _so_ exhausted, but I just kept running through the woods, searching, reminiscing of my opening dream.

_He's gone._

My breathing was labored, matching the desperation I felt as I suddenly tripped. I didn't bother to get up anymore and continue my search. I stayed there, lying on the damp forest floor, staring dizzily up at the darkening sky.

How long had I been out here?

I was cold, but I felt too numb to actually care to warm myself up. I felt empty inside— like I'd just died. Maybe I had. There was no hope left for me to feel, nothing left that would let me know I was alive. There was warmth left to comfort my broken heart, not even the concern filling the familiar silver-eyes staring back at me as a warm hand gently brushed against my cheek.

_He's gone…_

I aimlessly shifted my gaze— up, down, left right. My eyes settled on her chapped lips; they moved, but no sound seemed leave them… at least, none that I could hear. She looked up and I followed her gaze, though before I could make sense of what was happening, the feeling of weightlessness suddenly overtook me as I was seemingly lifted off the ground. My arm dangled at my side, though it touched nothing but air, and my other side seemed to find strange comfort in the blazing warm enveloping it. I shifted my head slightly, but made no effort to see who was or what was anymore.

I didn't care.

_He's gone._

"I don't know if it matters much, at the moment, but I'm Jason. Jason Eberhardt— we met a few months back when Mila was in the hospital," a deep voice rumbled from my side.

I did not reply; he was right— it didn't matter.

I didn't care.

_He's gone…_

Not anymore.

It didn't seem like too much time passed before there were brighter lights illuminating the darkening evening, and the deep babble of many male voices. Jason Eber… whatever his last name was, slowed as he approached the commotion.

"I've got her!" he called in a booming voice.

The babble ceased, and then picked up again with more intensity. A confusing swirl of faces moved over me. His voice was the only one that made sense in the chaos, perhaps because my ear was against his chest.

"No, I don't think she's hurt," he told someone. "She just keeps saying 'He's gone.' "

Was I saying that out loud? I bit down on my lip.

"Bella, honey, are you all right?"

That was one voice I would know anywhere–even distorted, as it was now, with worry.

"Dad?" My voice sounded strange and small.

"I'm right here, baby."

There was a shifting under me, followed by the leathery smell of my dad's sheriff jacket.

Charlie staggered under my weight.

"Maybe I should hold on to her," Jason suggested.

"I've got her," Charlie said, a little breathless.

He walked slowly, struggling. I wished I could tell him to put me down and let me walk, but I couldn't find my voice. There were lights everywhere, held by the crowd walking with him. It felt like a parade. Or a funeral procession. I closed my eyes.

"We're almost home now, honey," Charlie mumbled now and then.

I opened my eyes again when I heard the door unlock. We were on the porch of our house, and the tall dark man named Sam was holding the door for Charlie, one arm extended toward us, as if he was preparing to catch me when Charlie's arms failed.

But Charlie managed to _get_ me through the door and to the couch in the living room.

"Dad, I'm all wet," I objected feebly.

"That doesn't matter." His voice was gruff. And then he was talking to someone else.

"Blankets are in the cupboard at the top of the stairs."

"Bella?" a new voice asked. I looked at the gray-haired man leaning over me, and recognition came after a few slow seconds.

"Dr…?" I mumbled. I totally forgot his name.

"That's right, dear," he said. "Are you hurt, Bella?"

It took me a minute to think that through. The doctor **(Who? Just kidding :P)** was waiting. One grizzled eyebrow rose, and the wrinkles on his forehead deepened.

"I'm not hurt," I lied. The words were true enough for what he'd asked.

His warm hand touched my forehead, and his fingers pressed against the inside of my wrist. I watched his lips as he counted to himself, his eyes on his watch.

"What happened to you?" he asked casually.

I froze under his hand, tasting panic in the back of my throat.

"Did you get lost in the woods?" he prodded. I was aware of several other people listening.

Four tall men with dark faces— from La Push, the Quileute Indian reservation down on the coastline, I guessed… well, all except Jason. A man I recognized as Sam Uley was among them, all standing very close together and staring at me. Mr. Newton was there with Mike and Mr. Weber, Angela's father; they all were watching me more surreptitiously than the strangers. Other deep voices rumbled from the kitchen and outside the front door. Half the town must have been looking for me.

Charlie was the closest. He leaned in to hear my answer.

"Yes," I whispered. "I got lost."

The doctor nodded, thoughtful, his fingers probing gently against the glands under my jaw.

Charlie's face hardened.

"Do you feel tired?" the doctor asked.

I nodded and closed my eyes obediently.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with her," I heard the doctor mutter to Charlie after a moment. "Just exhaustion. Let her sleep it off, and I'll come check on her tomorrow," he paused. He must have looked at his watch, because he added, "Well, later today actually."

There was a creaking sound as they both pushed off from the couch to get to their feet.

"Is it true?" Charlie whispered. Their voices were farther away now. I strained to hear. "Did they leave?"

"Dr. Cullen asked us not to say anything," the doctor— Gerandy, I now remembered— answered. "The offer was very sudden; they had to choose immediately. Carlisle didn't want to make a big production out of leaving."

"A little warning might have been nice," Charlie grumbled.

Dr. Gerandy sounded uncomfortable when he replied. "Yes, well, in this situation, some warning might have been called for."

I didn't want to listen anymore. I felt around for the edge of the quilt someone had laid on top of me, and pulled it over my ear.

I drifted in and out of alertness. I heard Charlie whisper thanks to the volunteers as, one by one, they left. I felt his fingers on my forehead, and then the weight of another blanket. The phone rang a few times, and he hurried to catch it before it could wake me. He muttered reassurances in a low voice to the callers.

"Yeah, we found her. She's okay. She got lost. She's fine now," he said again and again.

I heard the springs in the armchair groan when he settled himself in for the night.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again.

Charlie moaned as he struggled to his feet, and then he rushed, stumbling, to the kitchen I pulled my head deeper under the blankets, not wanting to listen to the same conversation again.

"Yeah," Charlie said, and yawned.

His voice changed, it was much more alert when he spoke again. "Where?'" There was a pause. "You're sure it's outside the reservation?" Another short pause. "But what could be burning out _there_?" He sounded both worried and mystified. "Look, I'll call down there and check it out."

I listened with more interest as he punched in a number.

"Hey, Billy, it's Charlie— sorry I'm calling so early… no, she's fine. She's sleeping… Thanks, but that's not why I called. I just got a call from Mrs. Stanley, and she says that from her second-story window she can see fires out on the sea cliffs, but I didn't really… Oh!"

Suddenly there was an edge in his voice— irritation… or anger. "And why are they doing that? Uh huh. Really?" He said it sarcastically. "Well, don't apologize to _me_. Yeah, yeah. Just make sure the flames don't spread… I know, I know, I'm surprised they got them lit at all in this weather."

Charlie hesitated, and then added grudgingly. "Thanks for sending Sam and the other boys up. You were right— they do know the forest better than we do. It was Jason who found her though. Eberhardt? Sam helped him, so I owe you one… Yeah, I'll talk to you later," he agreed, still sour, before hanging up.

Charlie muttered something incoherent as he shuffled back to the living room.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He hurried to my side.

"I'm sorry I woke you, honey."

"Is something burning?"

"It's nothing," he assured me. "Just some bonfires out on the cliffs."

"Bonfires?" I asked. My voice didn't sound curious. It sounded dead.

Charlie frowned. "Some of the kids from the reservation being rowdy," he explained.

"Why?" I wondered dully.

I could tell he didn't want to answer. He looked at the floor under his knees. "They're celebrating the news." His tone was bitter.

There was only one piece of news I could think of, try as I might not to. And then the pieces snapped together. "Because the Cullens left," I whispered. "They don't like the Cullens in La Push— I'd forgotten about that."

The Quileutes had their superstitions about the "cold ones," the blood-drinkers that were enemies to their tribe, just like they had their legends of the great flood and wolf-men ancestors. Just stories, folklore, to most of them. Then there were the few that believed.

Charlie's good friend Billy Black believed, though even Jacob, his own son, thought he was full of stupid superstitions. Billy had warned me to stay away from the Cullens…

The name stirred something inside me, something that began to claw its way toward the surface, something I knew I didn't want to face.

"It's ridiculous," Charlie spluttered.

We sat in silence for a moment. The sky was no longer black outside the window.

Somewhere behind the rain, the sun was beginning to rise.

"Bella?" Charlie asked.

I looked at him uneasily.

"He left you alone in the woods?" Charlie guessed.

I deflected his question. "How did you know where to find me?" My mind shied away from the inevitable awareness that was coming, coming quickly now.

"Your note," Charlie answered. surprised.

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a much-abused piece of paper. It was dirty and damp, with multiple creases from being opened and refolded many times. He unfolded it again, and held it up as evidence. The messy handwriting was remarkably close to my own.

 _Going for a walk with Edward, up the path_ , it said. _Back soon, B_.

"When you didn't come back, I called the Cullens, and no one answered," Charlie said in a low voice. "Then I called the hospital, and Dr. Gerandy told me that Carlisle was gone."

"Where did they go?" I mumbled.

He stared at me. "Didn't Edward tell you?"

I shook my head, recoiling. The sound of his name unleashed the thing that was clawing inside of me–a pain that knocked me breathless, astonished me with its force.

Charlie eyed me doubtfully as he answered. "Carlisle took a job with a big hospital in Los Angeles. I guess they threw a lot of money at him."

Sunny L.A. The last place they would really go. I remembered my nightmare with the mirror… the bright sunlight shimmering off of his skin–

Agony ripped through me with the memory of his face.

"I want to know if Edward left you alone out there in the middle of the woods," Charlie insisted.

His name sent another wave of torture through me. I shook my head, frantic, desperate to escape the pain. "It was my fault. He left me right here on the trail, in sight of the house… but I tried to follow him."

Charlie started to say something; childishly, I covered my ears. "I can't talk about this anymore, Dad. I want to go to my room."

Before he could answer, I scrambled up from the couch and lurched my way up the stairs.

Someone had been in the house to leave a note for Charlie, a note that would lead him to find me. From the minute that I'd realized this, a horrible suspicion began to grow in my head. I rushed to my room, shutting and locking the door behind me before I ran to the CD player by my bed.

Everything looked exactly the same as I'd left it. I pressed down on the top of the CD player.

The latch unhooked, and the lid slowly swung open.

It was empty.

The album Renee had given me sat on the floor beside the bed, just where I'd put it last. I lifted the cover with a shaking hand.

I didn't have to flip any farther than the first page. The little metal corners no longer held a picture in place. The page was blank except for my own handwriting scrawled across the bottom: _Edward Cullen, Charlie's kitchen, Sept_. _13th._

I stopped there. I was sure that he would have been very thorough.

 _It will be as if I'd never existed_ , he'd promised me.

I felt the smooth wooden floor beneath my knees, and then the palms of my hands, and then it was pressed against the skin of my cheek. I hoped that I was fainting, but, to my disappointment, I didn't lose consciousness. The waves of pain that had only lapped at me before now reared high up and washed over my head, pulling me under.

I almost didn't resurface. That is, until I remembered something _very_ important.

I scrambled to my feet and out the door of my room. I nearly fell down the stares. Nearly. I might've been proud of myself had I not drowned in depression and desperation what seemed like hours ago. Was it hours ago? I don't know.

I stood at the bottom of the staircase, drunken with exhaustion and disheveled as I stared back at the wide-eyed Charlie standing before me, phone in hand once more.

"Dad." My voice was unusually deep as I spoke. "Where is Mila?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Mila's P.O.V.**

I felt him there, standing right behind me, though I made no move to turn around and look at him as I blankly stared down at the now empty spot the bronze haired sparkly vampire had been previously occupying. I could feel the tears beginning to build up in my lower eyelids once more as I waited, body tense in anticipation...

I knew what was going to happen.

"Mila..."

I balled my hands into fists and clenched them tightly at my sides, my fingers practically digging into the palms of my hands.

"Milarayne..."

I shook my head. "Don't," I mumbled.

I took a step forward, slightly hesitant as I realized I didn't know my way out. I then blinked and groaned silently as I felt one betray me, slowly sliding down my cheek. I stumbled backward, startled when he flashed in front of me, though, fortunately, I caught myself.

But then, another betrayed me. Then another and another, and so on. Just like he did.

Just like they all did.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said softly, cradling my face.

I shook my head as the tears betrayingly fled my eyes and slid down my cheeks, but he wouldn't let go.

"Let go of me," I croaked weakly.

But he didn't let go. "Mila, don't. Come on. Talk to— hey, look at me; talk to me!"

I fought back a growl and ripped myself out of his hold, glaring at him through my tears. "About what?! You're going away too! Just like the rest of them. You're leaving, and I'm staying here!"

"Mila, don't— stop... don't talk like that..."

"Why? Would you rather I'd destroy myself even more by being in denial?" I asked. "You've always told me to face the truth— this is the truth. You're leaving me just like the Nickolauses did. Just like the Cullens _just_ did. You're leaving me just like they did— just like my own family did!"

I glanced at the ground and anger, trying to control my breathing, though I instantly reacted when he stepped toward me and instantly took a step backward, away from him, shaking my head.

"No, you know what? Just go."

"Mil—"

"No, just go!" And he stepped toward me, but I quickly brought my hands to his chest and pushed him away, shaking my head. "Go! Leave! I don't want to see you again— ever!"

He frowned, the pain clear in his eyes. "Is that really what you want?"

I narrowed my wet eyes at him. "It doesn't matter if I want it or not. It's inevitable— you were going to leave anyway, weren't you?" I scoffed as the tears left my eyes. "Who are we trying to kid, Mason? Just… just go."

"So that's it. We're over— you're breaking up with me."

I glared at him. "We should've never even started. You had your bags packed a long time ago; you were going to leave from the start. I have no idea why I was stupid enough to let you in, in the first place."

"That wasn't stupidity, Mila, that was—"

"What? Love? Don't kid yourself, Di Angelis." I huffed. "Is that even your real name?"

"Mila…"

"Go."

He was silent for a moment before, suddenly, he stood right in front of me. I didn't move this time, I just stared at him. He gently cradled my face between his hands, tears welling up in his own eyes. He leaned in, his beautiful, emerald eyes never leaving mine.

His lips neared mine but were stopped by my finger.

"Stop making this harder than it already is," I croaked.

Ever so delicately, he moved my finger from his lips and held it gently in his hand as the other remained, cradling my face. "I love you, Milarayne," he said, his voice as intense as his gaze. "Never forget that."

His lips crashed onto mine. I could taste the saltiness of our tears intertwining as our lips molded together, made just for each other.

With one last mingled breath, he was gone with the wind.

_I love, Milarayne. Never forget that._

Honestly, as much as I hate to admit it… I don't think I ever could.

**Author's Note:**

> **ATTENTION** I DO NOT OWN ANY OF STEPHENIE MEYER'S ORIGINAL CHARACTERS FROM THE ORIGINAL TWILIGHT SAGA. I ONLY OWN MILARAYNE, HER FAMILY, MASON, JASON (WOLF), AND SOME OTHERS I MIGHT CREATE FURTHER ON.


End file.
